Colorblind
by kurisu christina
Summary: Partially set in S3, Damon decides to undo all the hurt he's put Elena through.
1. Backwards

**Disclaimer: I. Don't. Own. This. Show. I really need to make better disclaimers…oh, I don't own "Colorblind" by Natalie Walker.**

**A/N: So since everyone liked "Apologies" I'm going to write this because it popped into my head and just wouldn't go away. It's based on the song by Natalie Walker, called "Colorblind". I'm not going to explain it too much (I tend to do that in disclaimers) but please tell me what your think. Also, I might add another chapter to "Apologies" if anyone has any ideas they'd like me to add.**

_I am colorblind_

_Coffee black and egg white_

_Pull me out from inside_

_I am ready, I am ready, I am ready…_

I just couldn't believe him. I couldn't believe how cruel he was being to her. I had been that cruel before, but I never thought I would see Stefan call Elena weak, or stupid.

I mean, at first I knew there wasn't any humanity left in Stefan, but his love for Elena had been so deep, always there to stop him from hurting her more than he had already. He resisted Klaus's compulsion; he refused to feed on her because he loved her, and now he was telling her she was weak because she thought that he could come back, be who he was before.

I saw her punch him in the gut with her stakes, saw as she told him it made her strong. I also heard her heartbroken sobs when she reached the car. Maybe she thought she was strong, maybe she thought that she could keep from breaking, but I knew that sooner or later should would anyway. It would be in front of Stefan, too, and that would show him how scared she was. I didn't want him to have the upper hand over her because then he would think he could get her to do anything. He had tried getting to her earlier, and he knew that she would fight back when Klaus was sure Michael wasn't a threat (I prayed that he would be enough to kill Klaus) so he needed to break her before Klaus got back.

I uncapped the bottle of bourbon, filling a glass completely. Stefan wandered in, smirking.

"Drowning your sorrows, brother?" he inquired, taking his own glass and pouring a drink.

I shook my head. "No. Just…thinking."

"With a full glass?"

"I can hold my own." I said, walking away and heading for my room. I wasn't in the mood for another pointless talk about how I should stay away from Elena because she was bound to go with Klaus one way or the other. Stefan had already explained that about a thousand times.

Upstairs I had another bottle of bourbon, and I promptly drowned my sorrows until the world was hazy and blurred. It takes a lot of alcohol to do that to a vampire.

I wondered what would have happened if I had never come here. Would Stefan be evil? Would he be with Elena? Would he have even tried to meet her?

I thought about all the people that had died since I had moved back…Vicki, Zach, Tanner, Lexi, Anna, Caroline (not in the "gone sense so much as the "dead but walking" way), Isobel (would that be a good thing?), John, and Jenna. I had set everything in motion, one way or the other. I had caused so much of the pain that Elena was feeling now.

What if I could take it all back?

It seemed silly at first, until the idea started getting bigger and bigger. What if I could go back and never come here? I imagined Elena, rosy-cheeked and laughing as she and Stefan danced at the beginning-of-school dance, Jenna alive and watching from the corner with Alaric, Vicki smiling as she slow-danced with Tyler, Matt and Caroline exchanging shy glances, Jeremy holding Anna close, Bonnie with someone else that cared for her (was I the only one that saw how badly a breakup with Jeremy would affect Elena?). Of course, there was no way…

_Bonnie_.

The name floated out of the seas of names drifting in my head. Bonnie was a witch, she could do powerful spells. There had to be a time-travel spell that I could have her do.

Well…I could do that when I could see straight and walk. I slipped into a shadow, foggy sleep.

**O.o.O.o.O.**

Bonnie was less than pleased with my idea. "You want to go back and fix things by _not _showing up?" she asked, incredulous. "Why? So you can trick me into sending you back and then somehow win Elena over? No way."

"Please." I pleaded. "Bonnie, she's going to break soon. She's taken too much all at once and I just wish I could find a way for her to suffer less. All I want to do is go back so that I can watch from far away without interfering."

"Really…?" Bonnie was carefully watching my face for any changes. "How will it help?"

I shrugged. "Vicki won't die. Neither will Lexi, or Tanner, or Zach, or the countless others I've killed here. Want a longer list? I won't be able to screw things up because all I want is for Elena to be happy, and I know that she can't ever be happy with me."

Bonnie shook her head. "How will I know if you're telling the truth?"

"Well, you'll be in an alternate universe where you don't remember this conversation and everyone you love is alive…oh, let's say, Grams? I won't be here to insist you open the tomb."

Her eyes gleamed with tears. "I…" her hand moved towards a book and she opened it slightly, peering inside. "I don't know, Damon, I really don't."

"Bonnie, please." I begged. "I don't know what else I can do, we're in way too deep to fix this." That much was true. I couldn't see any real way out that didn't involve Elena dying or being carted around by Klaus as human blood bag, getting more of the diminished Mystic falls population killed in the process.

"Fine." Said Bonnie, surprising me. "But you have to give me—past me—a note that I'm going to write, and you can't touch it or change it, understand? I'm going to put a spell on it so it can't be changed."

"I—what? A note?"

"I don't want you ruining things." She said, already scribbling something on a scrap of paper she had gotten from the table. "I want to make sure Elena doesn't get hurt by you."

It was the first time I wished that I had Bonnie's trust. I wanted her to know that this time I meant what I said; much as I wanted to, I had no intentions of going near Elena unless I had too.

Bonnie thrust the note into my hands. "Here. If you don't give this to past me within three hours you'll light on fire. Now go over there and sit down, this spell might take a while."

"I'll what?" I exclaimed, still a little occupied with the first statement.

"Light on fire." She said. "You can read that while I do the spell, if you want. I know you're going to anyway."

She forced me to sit, put candles around me in a circle, selected a book, and began to chant. I hesitantly opened the note she had written, hoping it didn't explode.

_Dear past me,_

_It's Bonnie, but from the future. There are a lot of things you should know, and things I wish I could tell you, but you need to know it's really me (there's a folded note enclosed in this one with…er… "proof" that you may want to throw away after reading it. Just so you know I'm you and not a psychopath). _

_You're a witch, like Grams said. It crazy, I know, but it's absolutely true. The guy that might be giving you this note, Damon Salvatore, he's a vampire. Keep him away from Elena, okay? He might start giving her funny looks, like he wants to kiss her or something…I don't know. Just don't let him get to her. _

_Other than that…be careful. Where I'm from, lots of things went wrong, and we lost our Grams because Damon had us do a spell to open a tomb full of vampires. Don't let that happen again. Things are so bad now that I'm sending Damon to the past to set it right. I think that this time he really wants to do some good, so don't be too hard on him. If this spell doesn't work…Damon, give this note to Elena, with my love to her and Jeremy. I hope I can go out with a bang._

_Bonnie_

My heart would have sped up if it could still beat. Bonnie was throwing away her life just to send me back?

"Bonnie…?" I asked looking up to see her chanting louder.

She stopped for a fraction of a second. "You're right, Damon, there's no way out this time. Besides, I won't be dead if this works."

"Bonnie." I said again, warning in my voice. "Bonnie, no."

It was too late. The candles were flaring up, illuminating the room as I clutched the note in my fist and tried not to get singed. Bonnie was surrounded by a vortex of whirling energy, closing in on me. The last thing I saw before I blacked out was her face as it fell back, a peaceful smile tracing up to her cheeks.

**A/N: Shall I continue? I want to rewrite everything where he makes sure no one dies and all that awesomeness ;)**


	2. It's All Worth It

**A/N: So, I'm thinking that people liked this fic…and I shall continue despite the fact that it's NaNoWriMo month and I have a ton of other stuff I should be doing. Oh well.**

**Keep in mind I have no real plotline for this in my head, which is usually how I start writing fanfics…you've been warned. These chapters will all be very short and pass large amounts of time very quickly, because there won't be much action in season one's timeline. After al, Damon's not there to cause trouble and release tomb vampires.**

**Also, in this chapter I guessed at why Elena needed pain medication after the car crash…is there a real reason that was mentioned on the show? All I remember is Vicki stealing her pain medication and Jeremy saying it was for after the car crash…**

After what seemed like an eternity of nothingness I found myself shrouded in a bright light, and I hit the ground hard. Stunned and winded, I could only tell with my hearing that it was somewhere in the woods, and I could hear talking far away. It sounded like…Zach. I had forgotten that Zach would still be here, just like Vicki and Tanner.

"Are you sure about this?" I heard Zach say to someone.

"Yes." A pause. "I have to know her."

That was definitely Stefan. He sounded so different from the Stefan that had been haunting everyone for the past few weeks. If I had my way he would never have to leave with Klaus, because I would never be there to insult Jules or Mason. I also wouldn't kill Mason, which might make things between Tyler and Vampire Barbie a little less romantic, but that meant nothing compared to what I could do.

I focused on where I was rather than what the two were saying. I appeared to be a few miles away from the boardinghouse, in the exact same spot I had been over a year ago when I first returned to Mystic Falls. Drawn by the same force I had felt last time, I headed for the school, shadowing Stefan.

Elena looked…different. Not in a "she-was-obviously-a-year-younger" kind of different, but the kind where she had suffered loss, just not loss of monumental proportions. Around her were all the people she loved, and right no one had died at my hands or at the hands of someone I had led into town.

She was laughing halfheartedly at something Bonnie had said, reminding me of the note that would burst into flames if I didn't deliver it. I spent about twenty minutes dodging students nervously, not wanting Elena to see me. If this plan worked out, she would never have to know I existed beyond Stefan mentioning me. I highly doubted that would happen if I never showed up at the boardinghouse.

Finally Bonnie was alone, seated at a bench on school grounds. I strode up to her, glancing around every other second.

"Bonnie." It wasn't a question, because I did know her.

She was surprised and apparently pleased by what she saw. "Oh…hi? Are you another new student?"

"Nope." I pulled the letter out of my pocket. "I'm supposed to give this to you."

"Who's it from?"

"Someone very close to you." Was all I could manage, seeing as Elena was walking out of the building, head down as she tucked a book in her backpack. I sped off before she could see me.

It felt so anti-me, hiding from Elena when a few months ago I would have taken this situation as a way to win her back. Of course, I did still want her, but I knew I would be taking a risk if I tried anything.

I spent the rest of the day searching for a place to call home. There was no way Stefan would ever believe me if I told him what was going on, and he wouldn't be any more inclined to help than he had been when I showed up the first time. That meant I couldn't stay in the boardinghouse.

Eventually I found an old foreclosure that was close enough to keep an eye on Elena and Stefan while making sure all her little friends were secure too. It was going to be a full-time job.

Except that after a few days I found that it really wasn't. All I did was shadow Elena. She and Stefan hung out together, Bonnie started to realize her full, witch-y potential with help from her letter, she recognized Stefan for who he was, and Elena found out one night when she cut her hand with a knife and then saw his face. It barely seemed different from what I had witnessed, except that Vicki was still okay. I wasn't there to hurt her, so she was the same drug addict that she had been before, except now I had noticed she was dragging Jeremy farther and farther into her drug-induced haze surrounding her world.

That was the first thing I fixed. One night Jeremy was headed home when I hijacked him, pulling him into an alley and pressing him to the wall. Luckily, I couldn't smell vervain on him anywhere while he struggled against me.

"You are going to get it together." I commanded, compelling him. "You are going to get your grades up, work hard, and stop being such an ass to everyone around you. You're also going to stop using drugs and stay away from Vicki. You've decided that it's not what you want anymore, and that if she really wants you she'll stop the drugs and pull her weight for once. Matt shouldn't suffer because of her. His Mom is already bad enough."

Jeremy nodded. "It's time to stop with all the drugs." He agreed, zombie-esque. "Vicki needs to stop, too, or I can't be with her."

"You won't remember me or this conversation. You remember a man trying to steal your backpack, but you got away. That's why you've had this sudden change of heart."

"I remember nothing but the man trying to steal my backpack." He said.

I watched his eyes for a minute to make sure he was really compelled and then shoved him roughly out of the alley, watching as he raced down the street. I absently wondered who was even stupid even to be out this late. With vampires around it was like taking a walk through Sunnydale…though it wasn't _that_ bad here.

I beat Jeremy home, watching as he greeted a worried Elena and an angry but worried Jenna.

"Where were you?" Jenna demanded, glaring at him despite the smile of relief that was trying to make itself seen on her lips. "It's past twelve o'clock, Jeremy, and you're supposed to be home at eleven!"

"You could have gotten hurt!" Elena added. "Don't you care anymore?"

"_Don't you care?" she had asked earlier that day, fuming at him as she stormed into his room. "You're high again, I can tell! You have to stop!"_

_Jeremy, who was in fact very high and slightly drunk, laughed. "Whatever, Elena."_

"_I _mean _it, Jeremy!" she shouted, tears welling in her eyes. I had wanted to slam through the window and give him what he was asking for, but I knew I couldn't. "You're going to get in so much trouble…you're already in so much trouble!"_

"_So?" Jeremy asked, turning in his chair to face her. "So what, Elena? Why do _you_ care about me? Your life is perfect, with your perfect boyfriend and grades and friends. It's like you don't even care that Mom and Dad are still gone."_

_Elena's face fell immediately. "You know what? I do care. I care so much that even though I'm starting to feel better I still cry myself to sleep at night. Sometimes my chest hurts so badly I can't breathe! Remember this?" she lifted her shirt halfway, revealing a scar that traced across her left ribcage. "It still hurts, Jeremy, all the time! It makes me think of how all this is my fault, and it hurts so badly that I wish I could die!"_

_Jeremy sat there, stunned. He didn't even say a word as she ran out of the room sobbing and locked herself in her bedroom._

I could see she was afraid the same thing would happen again.

Jeremy was less startled by the onslaught in his compelled frame of mind. "Well…someone jumped me on the way home, and I had to wrestle my backpack away from him. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have been out so late."

"I don't want to hear any excuses…! Wait, you're sorry? Are you hurt?" Jenna said, jumbling everything that came out of her mouth together. "Did he steal anything from you?"

Elena merely wrapped Jeremy in a tight embrace. "I can't lose you." She whispered. "Please, Jeremy…" I knew she was talking about earlier that day, when she had told Jeremy that she needed him to stay away from drugs. He had brushed her aside, telling her that he would do whatever he wanted.

"Hey…" Jeremy whispered back, stroking her hair soothingly. "It's okay. You're right, Elena. I'm fine, Aunt Jenna." The last part was added at full volume as Jenna gave up her "parental control" front and hugged him from behind, still asking if he was hurt.

"You sure?" Jenna asked. Elena hadn't said a word since Jeremy telling her she was right, just held onto him like a lifeline.

Jeremy nodded. "I'm sure. And…no more drugs. I want to get back to school and my friends."

"Really?" Jenna said. Her eyes glinted suspiciously. "You're not just making this up so we leave you alone?"

"No." said Jeremy. I could hear the sincerity in his voice. "I'm tired of wasting my life. I just want…I just want to be okay again, like before…"

It was then that Elena started crying like there was no tomorrow and blessing the guy that had knocked sense into Jeremy's head by mugging him, at which point he pretended to be insulted and playfully shoved her on the couch. A pillow fight, more crying, and lots of hugging ensued.

Personally, it was so much better than repairing the damage left by changing Vicki. As I prepared to go home, I looked through the window one last time. Elena was asleep on the couch, head in Jeremy's lap, feet on Jenna's. A smile traced up her face faintly as Jeremy and Jenna tried their best to be quiet.

She made it all worth it, I thought. I had to remember that this was for her.


	3. I Promise

**A/N: And I idiotically keep writing this despite my NaNoWriMo-induced stress and lack of time. I'm insane, but what else can I say? I love this story. Think of it as a celebration of 11/11/11 (because I wrote it then) which we will never experience again because in November of 3011 we will all be dead. Not to be morbid or anything…**

**Please, please, PLEASE review *begs on hands and knees* If you do I'll take some suggestions for scenes that I could write for this story… y'know, except for M-rated stuff.**

**Plus I heard that clicking the review button is good luck, and everyone can use some good luck :)**

**A/N #2: As I write this it's long after I started this chapter. I was going to post it on 11/12/11 but I never got to finish it… sorry, guys. It's also going to be very short and action-packed… just bear with me, guys, NaNoWriMo is almost over and then I'll be updating fanfics very frequently.**

After Jeremy things started to settle down, I found myself wondering why I was still in Mystic Falls. No tomb vampires meant no giant vampire round-up, but as far as I could tell, Anna wasn't in town. Since there wasn't any rumor of the tomb being opened, she had no reason to be here in the first place. I almost pitied Jeremy—he and Anna had seemed happy together when I saw them at the Miss Mystic Falls dance.

Despite that there was still a good chance that Katherine would show up here, trying to get the moonstone and Elena for Klaus, because the one thing I was sure of was that Klaus would still be out there regardless of whether or not the tomb vampires escaped.

I paced in Elena's backyard, head pounding from all the thoughts drifting through. It felt so strange, so… so me to be stalking her 24/7, but I knew this was justified. It wasn't always easy, not with her and Stefan being so in love. It killed me to hear them kissing, talking, and other things that made me cover my ears and retreat. I knew I had come back here so that Elena could be with Stefan and be safe, but it was taking everything that I had not to jump through her window and take her right in front of Stefan.

"I'll go to bed in a few minutes." I heard Elena say. She had been talking to Jenna about something Stefan-related for nearly an hour now. "I just want to check on Jeremy and see if he needs anything."

"He'll be too busy studying to notice." The pride in Jenna's voice was obvious.

"I'll bet he'll just kick me out, saying I'm distracting him."

Her footsteps were soft. She knocked twice on Jeremy's door. "Jeremy? Need anything?"

"You mind, Elena? I have a big test tomorrow."

"Okay." She backed far enough away before dashing down the stairs and collapsing on the couch in a heap of giggles. "I never thought I would hear Jeremy say that, but he did!"

After a lot of giggly girl-talk involving Jeremy I heard Elena bid Jenna goodnight and then close her bedroom door. I sighed. Tonight I would have to listen to her and Stefan…

I lost track of the night. Her soft breaths, audible from where I stood, soothed me and were starting to lull me to sleep. Sleep. Now there was a thought. I hadn't gotten much sleep, worrying about when Katherine would come if the tomb vampires didn't get out. Come to think of it, John might not show up either… it was so hard to keep track of all the events from the past when I barely knew what day it was currently. All I knew was that the Miss Mystic Falls had come and gone a few days ago, which meant that already half of a year had gone by and I hadn't noticed. The Founders' Day celebration where the tomb vampires had planned on attacking would be in just a few days.

I snapped out of my daze when I heard Elena's soft footsteps. I realized she was talking on her phone, and that she must have called someone while I was drifting off.

"…sounds good to me…" I heard her say. "I thought I might as well come over. Yeah. Okay…. I love you too, Stefan."

Great, just great. A midnight call to Stefan.

I stayed my distance once she reached the Boardinghouse, seeing as she had Stefan to protect her there, along with other highly unpleasant things that I didn't care to listen too. I stayed in the woods near the road, thinking about Katherine and where I could find her so I could kill her and then be on my way when I heard a car in the distance, then saw with terror rising in my throat that Elena was driving. She was going faster than was safe, especially considering how dangerous Mystic Falls was at night.

I sped after the car, making sure to stay far enough behind that Elena wouldn't see me. The night felt eerily similar to one I'd had before… I couldn't put my finger on what night it was, but I had a gut feeling that something bad was going to happen momentarily.

Then I heard it. A scream followed by ripping and tearing of metal as Elena's car ricocheted over the side of the road, doing three flips before it landed upside down in a ditch. It was even worse than the night when she crashed because… of Katherine's picture.

"Damn it, Stefan!" I muttered, running to the car. He hadn't really brought up Katherine during their relationship… not without me to push them together that first time.

A shadowy figure, like before, was striding towards Elena's car when I raced to it, scaring him off. That had to mean that Anna was in town and Katherine wouldn't be far behind. We were all screwed.

"Help! Help!" Elena was screaming. There were several dull clunks from inside the car.

I knelt down by the side. When my face appeared she screamed even louder, struggling to get free. Of course. She wouldn't recognize me now. "Hey… hey, Elena! Look at me!" she stopped screaming and stared at my with tear-filled eyes. "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you."

A gurgling noise came from her throat. "…c-crashed my car… not Katherine…" her voice held hate for Katherine. "Leave me alone."

"Look, I know Katherine, and I know you're not her. I just want to help you… I'm a… a friend of Stefan's."

"P-Prove it." She gulped. I could see she was in a lot of pain.

I wracked my brain for something to say. "He has a funny-looking tattoo on his arm or his back or something… he doesn't drink human blood. He has a brother."

Elena was crying by then. "A-a-a brother?"

"Shhhh…" I wanted her. "Someone might hear you and we don't need that man coming back here. Do you trust me or not?"

She whimpered, but nodded. Glass shards tumbled from her neck and chest.

"Good. Okay… if you put your arms on the ceiling—can you?—yeah, like that. If you do that I'll have you loose in a second."

Just like the last time I jerked on her belt to free her, but this time her legs were trapped by the car. She squirmed, cried out in pain, and kept holding on to the ceiling. "I'm still stuck…" there was a note of hysteria in her voice.

"Stay." I ordered. I went to the top of the car and ripped out the bottom, being careful to only loosen the metal enough so that Elena wouldn't fall on her head, but enough so I could get her out. I bent down other level again. "You ready?" a nod. "Okay…. Three, two one…"

I ripped out a section of the car and simultaneously caught Elena, gently pulling her out of the car. She looked dizzy, and her head tipped to the side. "My side hurts…" she gasped. I could hear her breathing was making rattling noises, like her lungs were full of pebbles.

It was my worst nightmare; a car crash where Elena was actually injured, with no way to get help. The worst part was I couldn't just waltz in a hospital with her because someone would see me and then Stefan would hear about it.

"It hurts a lot." Elena persisted, sounding terrified. "Please, it really hurts." Her voiced cracked on the last word.

"Do you have a phone?"

"Yeah… in the car…"

I went back to the wreck, rummaging through the glass on the ruins of the passenger seat. Her phone was still intact, oddly enough. I ran back to her and sat next to her as I dialed 911.

"What's your name?" Elena asked. She coughed, then groaned and drew a few shuddery breaths. "Why a-are you h-h-helping me?"

"Shhh, wait a second." I was glad she was coherent enough to ask a question like that.

"911. What is the nature of your emergency?" a positively bored voice said.

I said, "A girl got into a car accident. I think she has broken ribs."

"Can you tell me your location?"

I scanned the scenery briefly and looked at Elena. She needed to think I didn't know my way around here. When she told me I relayed the directions to the woman.

"You said you think she has broken ribs? Is she in the car?"

"No, I got her out."

I could hear the icy disapproval from her end of the line. "Try not to move her anymore. Is she conscious?"

I glanced at her again. "Yes."

"Is she having difficulty breathing, or pain when breathing?"

"Does your chest hurt?" I asked Elena. "Can you breathe?"

Elena grimaced and took a breathe in. "It hurts to breathe… I can barely talk…"

"She says it hurts to breathe." I relayed. I waited through more monotone instructions to not move Elena before the woman told me to; stay where I was because an ambulance was on it's way.

"Help coming?" Elena moaned. I nodded. "Good. Thank you."

"Yeah… I owe you." I scooted closer to her, taking her fragile hand in mine and squeezing it lightly. She gave me a grateful look, something I hadn't seen lately.

"W-hy?" she asked, the pain making her stretch the word into two syllables.

_I just ruined your other life and made sure everyone you loved died or ended up good as dead._ "It doesn't matter."

"You're a vampire." She stated, waiting for my nod of affirmation. "You…" she coughed again, hand clenching mine tightly as she put her free hand to her side. "You know Stefan."

"Yeah… I do."

She laid there for a few minutes. Each rattling breath hurt me more than all the torture I'd ever endured. "So are you the supposed brother?"

I should have known she would figure it out. "Yes."

"Why haven't you come to see Stefan?" she asked, doe eyes shining at me with innocence.

"I can't." I told her. "Will you promise not to tell Stefan I'm here? If he knows then both of you could get hurt… who knows what Katherine might do."

"Katherine…" Elena's eyes were becoming unfocused, and now they were blurring with tears. "… look like her…"

"She's a manipulative, vindictive vampire, and if you ever see her you have to get out as fast as you can."

"I promise."

"To which one?" I asked.

She considered it for a minute. "The… both. Both of them. I promise." She squeezed my hand harder, her other hand tracing her ribcage lightly. She must have been too afraid to touch it. "I promise."

"I know." I said, reassuring her. "You should try not to talk too much, you'll need less air."

Her eyes fluttered to a close as she nodded.

"Don't fall asleep, Elena." I warned.

She opened her eyes again. They moved around wildly. "Spinning."

"That's normal… just stay still, all right?"

She nodded a fraction of an inch and then glued her eyes firmly to mine. After a minute I noticed they had slowed their spinning a bit. "Anchor." She said, smiling.

Anchor? "Did the spinning stop?" I asked, confused.

"Yes." said Elena. "Anchor."

I feared that she would pass out soon. Her incoherence meant she was having a harder time talking, therefore having a harder time getting air.

"Anchor? Elena, is there something else wrong?"

"No… you. Anchor. Keeping me still." She said, struggling to get the few simple words out.

She was looking at me, and she felt safe with me. I was touched beyond words except for a stupid-sounding, "Ohhh…."

"Name?"

I trusted her. "Damon."

"Am… will I b-be okay, Damon?" she rasped. I prayed for the ambulances to come soon.

"Yes." I promised. "I'll make sure that you're okay, no matter what."

Soon the ambulances came, and as soon as I gave her one last reassurance, I sped out into the woods. As soon as Stefan heard about this he would be at Elena's side in an instance. He might have even been following her when she ran off. I was surprised he hadn't found her when I did.

I checked on her later, through the hospital window. She was asleep, white as porcelain. I fought all my instincts to go in there and be with her… Stefan was seated next to her bed.

Instead, I went to blend into the darkness. It was time I went home and got some sleep.

**O.o.O.o.O.**

Narrator's POV

On the hill overlooking the site of the accident, Katherine Pierce tutted disapprovingly while watching Damon speed away from the scene. "Ah, Damon… always interfering." She sighed gustily.

"Just wait, Elena Gilbert. We will meet soon, and you will be mine."

She strode away into the shadows. She owed an old lover a visit.

**A/N: *gasp* what could possibly happen? You should tell me, because I have no idea. I made all this up in half an hour.**


	4. Hello, Katherine

**Disclaimer: I don't own VD, just the plot of this fic**

**A/N: I owe you guys a chapter. I know.**

**So… here it is. Also, this is where I'm going to start incorporating my own plotline more than the season 1 plotline… and then I'm going to basically destroy the entire season 2 plotline expect for the main idea: Klaus sending his little minions to do his dirty work so he can become a hybrid.**

**MJ McCaul: sorry I didn't send this to you to beta, but I REALLY wanted to get it posted. I promise I'll send you the next one.**

I paced back and forth the filthy floor of the abandoned building I was currently staying in. Elena's face was permanently etched into my mind, the way her doe eyes were so innocent and trusting, how her hair was like silk, how she used to make me feel needed… I knew she needed me now, but it wasn't the same. I missed her friendship.

It had been just a day since her car accident and I hadn't been able to get close to the hospital. Stefan was there all day and night, as far as I could tell, lurking around the building when he was forced to leave after visiting hours. I knew if he saw me even once then I wouldn't be able to keep Elena safe. He would watch me like a hawk, assuming he wouldn't lock me up first.

A snap outside the door alerted me to a visitor. Stefan? I knew it couldn't be, because Elena would never give me away. It definitely wasn't a tomb vampire either… that left Bonnie. Since she still had her Grams and she had never been hurt or betrayed by Stefan she wasn't as loathe towards vampires as she was before.

A brunette head, one I knew too well, ducked in for a second before she had me pinned against the wall in a flash. "Hello, Damon. Miss me?"

"Katherine." I spat, struggling to get away. She loosened her grip enough so I had the chance to knock away her hand and free myself.

She pouted. "Awwww… I thought you liked me, remember? I got wind of some plan you've been making, one to free me from the tomb."

I had made plans for that, before coming to Mystic Falls. Of course, this time it was different. "No, I actually don't have any plans."

"Really?" asked Katherine, saccharine-sweet voice huskier and thicker than Elena's. I remembered the first time I came back to Mystic Falls I had thought how similar Elena and Katherine were, but I could see how they weren't even more. There was nothing kind in Katherine's voice, just a girl that was dead inside and running for her life and would do anything to stay safe.

"Really." I said. "What are you doing here, Katherine?"

She shrugged. "This, that… visiting old lovers, for one. I also saw you with Elena… tragic, wasn't it? And you got to play hero. I bet you loved that, huh, Damon?"

"I was helping her." I hissed. "She was hurt, and there was no one around."

She just smiled as if to say "Whatever you want to think, sweetie" and casually strode to my makeshift bed. "You're not living up to your usually standards, either. Why don't you just go live with Stefan? It would drive him insane and you'd have a fighting chance with Elena. Isn't that what you want?"

"No." I said shortly. I vaguely wondered if I should have tried to figure out why she was already here, but I was too angry to really care. I knew it was about Klaus, and I knew the major details. Moonstone plus doppelganger equals unbeatable Klaus. "I don't want to 'win' her from Stefan or hurt her, I just want to help her. Besides, it's none of your business."

"I see." Her trademark smirk stretched across her face. That face, the one that made her look so innocent and girlish one moment and then a vicious killer the next. "What made you so chivalrous all of a sudden? I thought that was Stefan's forte."

"Because…" I thought about it. I loved her, obviously, and I screwed up so many things for her. "You know what? It's _none of your business_." I strode over to the shabby mini-fridge I had found in the building and pulled out a beer. It wasn't what I was used to, but it had to do for now.

"Can I have one?" Katherine asked.

"Of course, Miss Katherine." I said, mimicking her tone, when I realized that was something I had said to her before. I chuckled as I got another beer and threw it to her.

She frowned. "What's so funny, Damon?"

"I said that to you at the Lockwood's masquerade ball. Then I tried to kill you."

"What?"

It was stupid to tell her things that she shouldn't know I knew, but I loved to be able to mess with her head for once. "Of course you don't remember, Katherine, but it was a pretty crazy night. I tried to kill you, you had some witch-y mojo on Elena that stopped me from killing you, and then you got left in the tomb." Her eyes widened. "You believe me?"

"No, of course not. You've gotten hurt or poisoned…" she said, but she looked very unsure. "And I never went to any event at the Lockwood's… not for a long time, anyway…"

I sipped my drink and smiled at her. "Who knows, maybe you were compelled to forget."

"That's impossible."

"Not if it's an Original."

She was looking more and more like Elena as her eyes got bigger, doe-like. "How do you know that?"

"You've missed a lot, Katherine." It seemed to frustrate her more as I kept repeating her name, starching it into two syllables.

I threw her drink down and it shattered. I was pinned to the wall again, her face inches from mine. "What the hell did you do to me? What are you even talking about?"

"Nothing." I choked out, and I spun her and slammed her into the wall. "It's something that I'll always know and you won't… unless you tell me why you're here." I knew it had to be something about Klaus, but I also knew that I had changed some things. Would Isobel show up? Was Klaus going to come early?

"What do you mean?" she asked, easily sliding from my grip and dancing across the floor away from me. "I'm just here to get some things done."

"Looking for a doppelganger, maybe?"

"Stop that!" she ordered, petulant. "I'm… I didn't want to say this, because I know how deeply you love me, but I'm here for Stefan. I want him back."

I laughed. "Sure you are. Good luck with that, by the way, because he's too in love with Elena to care about anything."

She seemed upset by my statement, but let it drop. "I should leave."

"You do that."

At the doorway she stopped and looked at me. "There wasn't any masquerade ball."

"No." I admitted. "Not yet, anyway."

She just glared at me, sighed, and disappeared through the door.

Even though it had been a good change to be the one playing head games, I was afraid that Katherine would go after Elena. She was in the hospital, weak, and there was no way Stefan could stop Katherine if she wanted to hurt Elena. Then again, there was no way I could either, but I headed straight there anyway.

It was quiet, for once, and to my delight Stefan was nowhere to be seen. I stayed outside Elena's window for a while, watching as she and Bonnie talked. I could hear parts of their conversation, mostly about Stefan and the accident.

"So what happened, anyway?" Bonnie asked. "I know you hit something, but was it a….?"

"Vampire?"

Bonnie nodded.

"Yeah." said Elena. She was still pale. It reminded me of when I took her from the hospital when Klaus was draining her of blood.

_I was recovering from one of Klaus' blows—those Originals could really pack a punch—when I remembered her. She had to be in the hospital, or Klaus wouldn't be there. I got up as fast as I could and spent at least three precious minutes wandering, trying to find her, she would be somewhere quiet, somewhere only the compelled nurses would go. _

_I finally found the room, smelled her honey-and-spices scent before I saw her. I could also smell her blood. _

_In the room she was unconscious, a blood bag attached to her arm that was draining her. I looked at it for a second before I started to pull the cord from her arm, stopping again when I was mesmerized by the small tube that had been in her arm. Her blood was intoxicating and one thing I always promised myself I wouldn't taste, especially after the one time when I had been bitten by Tyler. It had killed me when I had come to and seen the blood running down her neck, heard her soft but insistent, "You're hurting me!" like she thought any normal vampire would stop if she said that. But she trusted me, knew I would stop._

"_Damon…" she moaned softly. Her eyes held a faint fear, like I would suddenly see no difference between her and the blood bag she was attached to._

_My heart broke a thousand times over, and I gently scooped her up and cradled her in my arms. Her heart was beating unsteadily, and her head lolled to the side like she was a newborn. She would be scarred forever—I didn't know exactly what had happened in the gym, but I could see the bandage on her neck and smell the blood there. Stefan had never bitten her, not ever. It would kill her… I wasn't any better, since all I did was the same thing._

_When she sighed and cuddled closer, I thought that maybe despite everything I could make it better._

"Anyway…" Elena looked around, seeing if anyone was within hearing distance. "I was driving, and I hit the vampire." Bonnie nodded again. "But he got up, and he was about to get me when this… this man came and scared the vampire off."

"A man?" asked Bonnie. "Did you know him?"

"No. He was just there out of nowhere. I think he was a vampire. He got me out of the car—I was stuck, so he ripped out the bottom of my car and got my feet and legs free—and then he tried to make sure I was okay."

"You weren't, though. Is that why your ribs got so badly damaged? Because he tried to get you out of the car?" Bonnie already had her "Damon-is-trouble" look on and she didn't even officially know me.

Elena shook her head. "No, the doctors said if I hadn't 'miraculously' gotten out of the car—I didn't tell them about the man—that I would have been worse. I could have even punctured a lung."

"Did he just leave you there?" Bonnie definitely had her Damon radar on at that point, I could tell. Already she looked like she could kill me with a glance, which I knew she probably could. Without all the complications from before, Bonnie Bennett was becoming a very powerful witch.

"No, of course he didn't." Elena said. A smile played across her lips. "He stayed with me, called the paramedics, and then he just sat there and talked to me and held my hand. He was trying to keep me from passing out, I guess, but he was really sweet. He kept asking if I could still breathe."

"That's romantic." Bonnie teased.

"Stefan would have done the same, I'm sure." Elena said defensively. "Besides… I don't even know who the guy was, and he ran off when the ambulances came."

"Sketchy." Bonnie said, interrupted by her phone. "Hold on."

After some conversation with what sounded like Caroline, she sighed and hung up. "Caroline calls. Apparently the Founders day parade float requires my immediate attention, or the world might end."

Elena laughed, light and breathy. Her ribs still hurt, I could see it in her face. "Of course it will. Have fun."

As soon as Bonnie was gone I decided I might as well take the risk, and I went into the hospital, dodging into closets and random rooms when I saw anyone resembling Stefan. I finally made it to her room and slid in. She was looking out the window, watching Bonnie walk away. I cleared my throat and she jumped. "What—?"

"Hey, Elena." I said.

"Damon? Why are you here?" I couldn't help but feel pleased at her obvious happiness at my presence. "I thought you were gone, or hiding from Stefan…"

I shook my head. "No… well, yes. He just gets very defensive when I'm around. I meant to come yesterday, but he was lurking."

"He was just trying to protect me." She said, but she was grinning. "I know he can hover, but he's a sweetheart."

"I'm sure he was." I sat down next to her bed and took one of her hands. I didn't know why, but it felt right. She smiled and let her head sink back into the pillow a little.

She yawned. "I love how much he cares. No one has ever cared for me as much as he does."

_Except maybe me._ "Well, he was a nice guy when I knew him." I said. She was relaxing more and more as I talked. She had been hiding how much each word hurt her from her friends. I was touched that she felt like she could be honest with me, or at least relatively so. I felt like I was lying to her when I was even saying a word. "Always quite the charmer. He got Katherine, you know, and sometime I think for a while she actually loved him."

"You loved her too… right?"

"I did, for a really long time." The first time I had come here my love for her had been intact enough that seeing Elena made me want to kiss her and kill her and turn her. I had wanted to make her dark, but make her love me first. The guilt for those thoughts were what hurt now. "But she compelled me to lover her, and she only wanted me because I was more daring in the… well, the sexual department, to be honest."

She laughed. "Ew, not what I want to hear, thank you very much." Her hand tensed around mine and she gulped.

"You okay?"

"Pain medication's wearing off." She said. "Don't worry."

"You don't have to talk if you can't." I said. "I can just tell you about Katherine… if you want."

She nodded, creases in her forehead smoothing.

I started to talk without thinking, saying everything that I had ever thought about Katherine. "She was beautiful." I said, starting off with what drew me in first. "Not as beautiful as you, of course, but she was something. She was also as sweet and innocent as a five-year-old.. or so I thought. I didn't know for a long time that she was a vampire."

"When she changed in front of me the first time I was shocked, but I had been drinking. I thought it was imagination. At first she seemed afraid that I would panic, but when I kept kissing her she drank from me. After that I saw her as something else: she was free from all human constraints, she was a wild thing, she was demon and human and death She captivated me even more, the way she was in control of everything and the way she was so powerful. I'm not proud, but I let her feed off me and give me her blood without compulsion. She was like an addiction."

Elena's chest was rising and falling more slowly now. I must have put her to sleep with all my talking.

"Stefan and I tried to protect her together, but it didn't work. She was supposedly dead, and we were too. I wanted to die, but Stefan wouldn't let me." It still hurt me sometimes, thinking about that. If I had just died then, would Elena be okay right now? Would she have even met Stefan? "Then I was off on my way, trying to make something out of the shards of my life. I hated the way Stefan lived. He was always killing, ripping apart people for the fun. Eventually I did the same. I turned off the guilt, the shame, and I partied like I didn't have all eternity to experience the changing world."

Her head turned to me slightly, and she "mmm-hmmmed" so quietly only my hearing could pick it up. "Then I saw you, and Katherine didn't matter anymore. You know why? Because you actually give a damn about the people around you, and you're good and kind and you care."

I finally got up, reluctantly letting her hand slip onto the covers of the bed. "Thanks for listening… I have to go. I'll be back, though, I promise." There were so many promises I had made, and one more wouldn't matter.

As I headed to the door, I heard her stir.

"Thanks… thanks for being here."

"Always." 


	5. Founder's Day

**Disclaimer: If you're still reading this and for some reason you think I own Vampire Diaries… go get your head checked, you might have a fatal concussion.**

**A/N: I've been putting this off for so long, mostly due to midterms (how I hate those). I think the studying might have paid off, though, so… yay?**

**This is going to be a really big chapter (in terms of action and crazed vampires, not size—it's going to be short-ish, but action-packed… I hope) , according to the rough outline I have written out in my Geometry notebook that I don't ever use for Geometry. As I've been outlining it I've come to find it will follow the plotline of season 2, but it's much more condensed and there are different character deaths.**

**Hope you like this (review if you do?)**

Damon's POV

Founder's Day. In my opinion, not one of the best days ever. I went to the first, and it was boring as it would today, excepting the fact that I had no clue what was going to happen. Last time there was the tomb vampire attack (or attempt at an attack) and the John/Isobel stuff, but now both tomb vampires and Elena's parents were out of town. I had never opened the tomb, so they had never come. Though it was comforting enough to know that they were making trouble somewhere else, I knew Katherine was already in town, and that she had a plan.

The past week Stefan and Elena had been fine. I had watched as they grew closer, talked about the future which would be hard to have, and dealt with a lot less horrible things than when I was around. Tanner was still a teacher—a disadvantage for me, because Alaric wasn't here to help me if I needed it—and as far as I could tell Bonnie was much friendlier when it came to vampires. Her Grams was alive and well, so she had no reason to hate vampires.

I was going to the parade, but I had to stay incognito. I wanted desperately to say hello to Elena, but unless she left Stefan's side for some reason I wouldn't be able to.

As I left the abandoned building I locked the door even though I knew it wouldn't keep Katherine out. The last couple of night I could have sworn I heard her walking around the place, muttering to herself, but I could never make out what she said. Probably something involving a stake and my heart.

At the town's center, near the grill. There were only a few people setting up the float and stands for food. I knew that Elena would be at home, getting dressed. I was about to find a uiet place to stay out of the way of everyone when I saw the last person I ever thought would be at the parade.

Alaric.

That was impossible. Why would he come back? Logan wasn't here to kill, and as far as he knew neither was I. Plus the teaching job that wasn't available. Before I could change my mind I walked up to him. "Hi… are you Alaric?"

He looked surprised. "Yes… why? Do I know you?"

_This is going to be fun. _"Well… I might have turned you wife into a vampire."

"You _what_?" Alaric hissed, grabbing my arm and pulling me into the closest alley. "You were the one that killed her?"

"Well… yes, but she asked me and I was different back then!" I protested. "Look, I know you hate me and want to kill me, but I need to know why you're here. It could affect whether or not Elena lives tonight… or, you know, after tonight."

"Elena? Who's Elena?" He asked. His eyes still burned with hatred, but I seemed to have his attention.

I said, "Elena's you wife's daughter, who she had with John Gilbert. She's a doppelganger—"

"Wait, slow down. Isobel had a daughter?" he asked again. "Why are you even telling me this?"

"You deserve to know, I guess." I was telling him so he would protect Elena, but I figured he should know it anyway. "Anyway, Elena is part of a complicated and really bad sacrifice that will make a vampire into a vampire-werewolf hybrid. He's not here yet, and neither is his annoying minion, but Katherine is."

"Katherine?"

"The person Elena's a doppelganger of." I explained. "She's… vengeful. And I may have upset her."

Alaric stood there for a full five minutes, just staring at me. Finally he said, "And I should trust you why?"

"Because I told you the truth instead of screwing with your head like I normally would." I said. "Granted, you have no way of knowing if this isn't me screwing with you head, but that's because I've messed up all these different events that happened—did I mention that went back in time because I ruined everything for Elena? Well, I did—and anyway I screwed with your head the first time we met, kept insinuating I killed you wife instead of just telling you."

He kept looking at me like I was insane, but eventually he just sighed. "Sorry, but I can't believe based on that."

"Ask Bonnie Bennett." I said quickly. "Tell her that Damon told you … the stuff about your wife, and he isn't trying to hurt you. She'll tell you the time traveling is real."

He nodded. "Fine, whatever. But I can tell you that if you try anything I _will _kill you."

I watched him walk off. He was going to be harder to convince than Bonnie, and it occurred to me I should have tried to get notes from more people that I would need on my side. It would have been hard to explain to Alaric why I needed him to write it, but I knew I could have convinced him. I could have promised to keep Jenna safe.

I looked up in time to see Elena walking across the grass to greet Stefan, both of them dressed like I remembered from last time; Elena in an elegant golden dress with a corset that looked uncomfortable tight, and Stefan in one of his older blue suits that complemented Elena's dress perfectly. Her hair was like Katherine's… _Katherine_. I had completely forgotten about what Katherine did during the Founder's Day parade!

I ducked out of sight, trying to think of where Katherine would be. She didn't show up until later, after the attack on the vampires, which meant she had to be at least five miles away from the town square. Granted, this time there would be no vampire round-up, so I pulled out my phone and googled the closest house foreclosures. I didn't know if Katherine knew that trick, but Katherine knew Isobel and Isobel knew me. There were only two in the area, and I picked the most expensive. I shoved my phone in my pocket, getting ready to leave—

"Damon!"

"Who?" I whirled around and came to face Elena, smiling like I was her best friend.

"You're here." She said happily. "I thought you left town."

"Elena." I said, smiling back. "I… well, I was just busy. I'm sorry I couldn't visit you at the hospital after that one time."

"Katherine drama?" she asked. I had told her Katherine was in town, and Stefan had caught her up on who Katherine was to the Salvatore brothers.

"You could say that." I said. It was a pleasant surprise to have Elena staring at me, actually caring about what I said and not tolerating me because I was Stefan's brother and because she was nice to everyone. "She's up to something, and I can't figure out what."

I saw Stefan further away and felt a pang of guilt. I shouldn't have been talking to Elena in the first place. If Stefan heard me then I wouldn't' be able to help her anymore. He would tell her about the real me and she would run back to him and never trust me again. Besides, with Stefan not on Damon watch he got so much more done when it came to protecting Elena.

I felt her hand on my arm. "Are you okay?"

"Oh… yeah, just thinking." I said. "I actually have to go, but I'll be back in time to see you up on the float."

"You avoiding Stefan?" she asked. I nodded. "I won't tell him about you, don't worry."

"I won't." On impulse I took the hand on my arm and gave it a gentle squeeze, then turned to leave. "See you later?"

"Okay." I saw the faintest hint of a blush as she turned and awkwardly ran back to Stefan, the dress hindering her. My guilt doubled, but I couldn't help wanting her.

The foreclosure turned out to be just that; a foreclosure. I checked the other, and then ten ones further away, but I still couldn't find Katherine. Eventually I gave up and headed back to the parade.

Nothing eventful happened besides the parade. I watched from the shadows, waving at Elena and mouthing, "You look beautiful" at her when she spotted me. She blushed again, this time much darker. She had to avert her eyes and focus on someone else, but I saw a real smile creeping up at the edges of her face after she looked away.

Maybe it was just going to be a normal day after all. I could use one of those.

Katherine's POV

I hung at the edges of the parade all day, watching my little doppelganger as she walked around and showed off her dress on the float with Stefan. I felt a pang of some unknown emotion at seeing Stefan like that, in the clothes I knew him in, but I shoved it down as fast as I could. I had a different goal, a message for sweet, innocent Elena.

When it got darker I followed Elena's annoying blond friend—Caroline?—until she went to the bathroom to freshen up. As she was leaving I ran by and grabbed her, slamming her against the wall.

"E-Elena!" she gasped. "Elena, what are you doing?"

I ignored her and bit down on my wrist, opening a vein and shoving it to her mouth. She screamed against my hand and tried to escape, but my other arm had her whole body pinned against the wall. After a minute I pulled my hand away from her.

"What the hell, Elena!" Caroline screamed, terrified. She started to back away, and I let her. "What is wrong with you?"

"I guess I have a little demon in me." I said. "And now you do to. I need you to send Stefan a message."

"What? Why? You can tell him yourself." Caroline said, spitting blood on the ground.

"Tell him that Katherine says 'Stay the hell out of my way'."

Before she could get in another word I snapped her neck and let her body crumple to the ground. Then, too fast for anyone to see, I ran out and grabbed a worker, killing him instantly. I made sure that his blood was everywhere, and got it all over Caroline. It would make her wake up sooner, and all the better for me. The sooner she woke up, the sooner she would instill some fear in Elena and Stefan… and Damon.

It was about time I was in charge.

Elena's POV

After the parade was over I headed back home. Stefan wasn't with me, since I had told him to get out of his uncomfortable clothes as soon as possible. I wanted to do the same, so I did, and then I collected my dress and made my way home.

I couldn't help thinking about Damon as I walked. Damon Salvatore. The mysterious, unmentioned Salvatore that Stefan seemed to pretend didn't exist. As far as I could tell they had some sort of falling out and it had do with Katherine, but that was all. I wanted to ask Stefan about Damon, but that would only raise the question of how I knew about Damon.

I was unlocking my door when I heard someone behind me. I turned, hoping it was Damon, but instead came to face Caroline. She was filthy, her clothes ripped and spattered with blood, some of it coming from her mouth. "Caroline? Oh my God, Caroline, what happened?" The word _vampire _kept pounding in my head as I took in the sight of her covered in blood.

She was shivering. "You…" her voice was raspy and cracked.

"Caroline… it's okay…" I said softly, venturing towards her. I lifted a hand and gently brushed a clump of blood-soaked hair from her face. "Did someone hurt you?"

"You did this!" She screaming, completely losing it. I watched in horror as her eyes morhphed like a vampire's and she slammed me into the house with super-speed. "You killed me! Why did you kill me?"

"W-What?" I choked. Her grip was like iron. "Caroline… no… C-Caroline, I c-can't b-breathe…"

She clenched her fist even more. "You killed me." Her whole body was shaking. She drew back her head, teeth glinting, and then bit into my neck.

I screamed.

Damon's POV

I was walking down the road, headed for Elena's house, when I heard her scream.

"HELP!"

I started to run as fast as I could.

**A/N: Oh yes, a cliffhanger. I am evil.**


	6. Caroline

**A/N: So, as I'm writing this it's Friday the 27****th**** (?), and hopefully that'll be when you're reading it. I felt so bad about the cliffhanger I decided that I would try and get another chapter up so you didn't have to wait.**

**Also, thanks to laugh4life, who writes amazing fics for Pretty Little Liars and VD, and who beta-ed this :) my old beta, MJ McCaul, has been gone for a while. I'm sure you've seen enough of my spelling errors to know I desperately need betas.**

Elena's POV

I screamed as Caroline's fangs pierced my throat. I'd never actually been bitten before—Stefan had made sure I was safe at every moment—and it hurt. I thought that Caroline would puncture my windpipe, so I screamed as loud as I could. "HELP!"

For the painful second and a half that I thought no one would come, I felt my heart speeding up rapidly, compensating for the adrenaline and the blood loss. I tried to push Caroline away, but she held me against the wall until the wood paneling was cutting into my back painfully.

And then she was off me, and a figure in the darkness was holding her down. "Stop it, Caroline!"

"She killed me!" Caroline screeched, her bloodstained face coming into view. Her eyes were crazed, but scared… she thought that if she didn't kill me she would die. I felt a pang of sympathy, soon followed by a flood, and I was terrified that the man who I realized was Damon would hurt her.

"You have to calm down." He ordered sternly. "Elena didn't kill you, okay? She doesn't have enough strength to be a vampire."

She was still crying and struggling. "She… she…" she gulped. "She made me drink her blood and then her eyes were red and she killed me!"

"Yes, but that person was strong, and Elena isn't."

"No…" said Caroline. She looked at me. "So… a v-vampire killed me?"

I pressed a hand to my neck, trying to stop the flow of blood as I carefully walked towards her. "Katherine. I'm her doppelganger."

Caroline's shallow breathing was beginning to slow. "You're bleeding… does that mean you're not a vampire?"

I looked to Damon.

"Not necessarily." He said. "But if she was a vampire she would be healed by now."

"Oh." Caroline said. "Then… will you let me up?"

Damon looked at me and then back at her. "Will you promise not to hurt Elena?"

"Yes."

He got off her, eyeing her closely as she got to her feet and wiped blood and tears from her face. I ventured closer and held out a hand. "C'mon… we should get you inside."

She sniffed and nodded, letting me pull her close and gently steer her to the house. I saw Damon staring at me, and he gestured at my neck and then at his nose. I knew he was afraid the smell of my blood would set Caroline off, but I mouthed "Just follow me" and opened the door. "Damon, Caroline… would you like to come in?"

"Yes, thank you." Damon said, stepping into my house. Caroline looked confused but walked inside anyway.

I took Caroline to the bathroom and tried to help clean her off, but she made me leave when my neck started to bother her, so I headed to the kitchen. Damon was standing at the sink.

"You okay?" he asked. The genuine concern touched me… but this was Damon. He seemed like a caring person. I sometimes wondered why he was always helping me.

"Uh…." I gingerly felt my neck, and my hand came away red. "I've been better. If it's bothering you, I can leave—"

"No, I'm fine." He said quickly.

"Good." I walked past him, reaching in the cabinet for bandages.

He asked, "You need help?"

"I'm fine, don't worry about it." I said, sighing. "Perks of having a boyfriend that's a vampire; you always have enough of this." I waved the gauze in the air. "Oh, and experience with puling stakes out of people."

He laughed and relaxed just the slightest. "Yeah, that tends to happen a lot."

I pressed the gauze to my neck and put some tape on it to hold it in place. "Uh-huh… so… what are we going to do about Caroline?"

"What do you mean?"

"We have to help her!"

He gave me one of those serious looks; a gaze reminiscent of Stefan's. "Elena…"

"Don't tell me that there's nothing we can do, or that she's dangerous, or that I could get hurt again, because I don't care." I said. Tears formed in the corners of me eyes. "She's my _friend_, Damon."

I was so scared that he would tell me I was wrong. I didn't know why, but I did. "I know… and I'll help her as much as I can."

Relief flooded through my body, and I dropped into the closest chair. "Really?"

"Yeah, though if I were you, I'd have Stefan help. He's better at the whole vampire-reforming thing."

I nodded, sniffing and hastily wiping away my tears. I had seen Caroline coming down the stairs, and I didn't want her to be upset. "Caroline. You feel better?"

"A little." She said. "I'm just—"

"—scared?" Damon offered. "I get that. But you'll be fine."

She shook her head. "What will my Mom say?"

"Yeah." Damon had serious-face again. "About her…"

I sat there for nearly an hour and a half while Damon explained everything; how her mom killed vampires as part of her job, how Katherine was my doppelganger, and how Stefan could probably help her learn how to control being a vampire. He was so patient with her… he almost reminded me of Stefan for a minute.

Then he looked up, at the door. "That would be Stefan… listen, Caroline, you can't tell him I was here, okay?"

"Why not?" she asked, sounding a little more like herself.

Damon looked at the door, more nervous now. "There's so many reasons and I promise I'll tell you them some other time, but I really should go." Then he was gone, leaving only a cold breeze behind him.

As predicted, Stefan knocked at the door. "Elena?" I heard the slightest hint of fear.

I got up and ran to the door, and when I opened it I saw Stefan glancing around at the porch. I only them realized the alarming large blood spatter on the wall where Caroline had held me. "Stefan."

"Elena, what happened? I smelled your blood everywhere, and I thought that it was…" he got a far-away expression and shook his head. "I thought I saw someone I knew at the parade, and I thought that he might have tried to hurt you."

"Sorry, that was me." Caroline said from behind me. I turned my head and saw her inching up towards us. Stefan seemed to see what was going on.

"You were turned?"

"By Katherine." Said Caroline. "And she says 'Stay the hell out of my way' … or at least that's what she said to tell you."

"Katherine?" Stefan asked. "She's here?"

"Apparently." Caroline said. She crept closer, but made sure to stay on the opposite side of my neck. She was glancing warily at Stefan like he might snap, just because she hurt me.

Instead he sighed and walked in, closing the door behind us.

Damon was right, as usual. Stefan promised that he would protect Caroline, and make sure she didn't hurt anyone. She hadn't killed anyone yet—the man Katherine left her had already been dead, and Caroline felt guilty about drinking his blood, but she hadn't killed him—and he promised her he would do everything in his power to make sure she never killed anyone. I could already see she would be fine.

"What about… you know…" she gestured at the window. "Sun, and the whole burning-in-the-sun thing?"

"We can ask Bonnie to make you a daylight ring." He said.

Caroline's face crumpled. "Oh God, Bonnie! What will she say when she finds out that I died?"

I came to sit next to her and wrapped an arm around her. "She'll love you all the same."

Caroline leaned her head on my shoulder. "I'm scared to go home. What if Mom finds out? Do you think she would kill me?"

"Of course not, Caroline, how could you say that?" I said, though in my heart I had no idea what Sheriff Forbes would do. Honestly, I was afraid that she would kill Caroline, thinking her daughter was dead. Of course, I would never tell Caroline that. "You shouldn't tell her unless you have to, though, because it'll be easier for her if you're just her Caroline."

"_Her_ Caroline." She mimicked in a falsetto voice. "Since when has she cared about anything?"

I glanced at Stefan and he shrugged. "I'm sure she does."

She didn't ay anything, just flopped back onto the bed, dragging me with her. "Can I stay here?"

"Actually, I was hoping I might be able to take you to the boardinghouse?" asked Stefan. "Just for a night or two, so I can show you how to control you cravings, and to hunt—"

"Okay, okay!" she said, stopping him in mid-explanation. "Just as long as I don't have to go home."

She left with him, and Stefan stopped by the bed to lean in and kiss me. "Be safe, okay? If you see Katherine, call me right away."

"Promise." I said, smiling. He was content with that, and followed an impatiently waiting Caroline down the stairs. I heard her start to say something about killing innocent animals and being a serial killer. I groaned in annoyance. Stefan was going to have his hands full for a while.

I laid on the bed for a long time, staring at the ceiling. I had always wondered if Mom knew about the vampires, seeing as she was an ancestor to one of the founding families. Had she been like Sheriff Forbes? I wondered what she would have said about Stefan, if she would have wanted to kill him or of she would have trusted him.

Before I knew it tears were swimming in my eyes and ragged sobs were escaping my throat. I didn't know why I was crying—maybe it was thinking about my parents, or because Caroline had become a vampire, or because I had been carrying so much on my shoulders for so long. I gripped the sheets on my bed and shook, letting go of everything, all the worries that I wouldn't be strong enough to keep Jeremy going.

I felt like I was at the edge of despair when I felt a hand slip in between my hand the sheets, and I started. Two familiar blue eyes burned into mine. "D-Damon?" I choked out.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, nothing at all, I-I'm fine…" I hedged, jerkily sitting up and drawing my knees to my chest. "Why w-would you say that?"

"You're crying, for one." He said, his other hand brushing the tearstains on my face. "And your friend became a vampire today."

"I'm fine." I repeated. There was no way I was having a mental breakdown in front of Damon. I swallowed the lump in my throat and quickly wiped my face. "Did you need something?"

"Stefan left; I wanted to know if he's going to help Caroline."

"Yeah." I realized he was still holding my hand and jumped off the bed. "Look, it's been a long night…"

"I'll let you get to sleep." He said. He got up and headed to the door.

"Wait!"

"What?"

I grabbed a slip of paper off the nightstand and scribbled a number down on it in colored pencil—probably Jeremy's. "If you ever want to call me… if Stefan's around and you need to talk to me."

A faint smile crept up at his lips. "I'll remember that. Goodbye, Elena."

I shook off the feeling he gave me as I got ready for bed. It was nothing. It had to be nothing, the way he looked at me, and the way he always tried to help me and was gentle with me…

Right?

**A/N: Well… hope you liked that. I know there were at least three times there Damon could have kissed Elena… you'll have to wait a while for that.**


	7. Damon's Number

**A/N: Yup. I haven't updated in a while (I think), so I might as well now. I'm not much of a football fan, and since the Superbowl's on today, I have about three or four hours in which I'll be forced to not watch TV. Good for you guys :) not good for me, but I'll live.**

Damon's POV

I watched her very closely after that night, but I never actually went back. I felt like I had stepped over a line that wasn't meant to be crossed. Elena was Stefan's, not mine, and I had promised Bonnie that I only wanted to help Elena. I wasn't supposed to be falling for her again. Not like this. Stefan was so happy and I didn't want to ruin it for him, but I wanted to be with Elena. Just being around her made my skin feel like it was on fire. I hadn't even called her, and since it had been almost a week, I felt guilty. I didn't want her to think that I'd abandoned her.

Elena's POV

Had Damon forgotten about me?

It had been a week since Caroline had turned, and I was starting to feel so alone. Stefan was always busy with Caroline, and Bonnie was always staying with her Grams to learn more about magic. I knew it was good for her to control her power and for Caroline to control her hunger, but I missed them. I would have given anything for him to call me, or even come over. How he made me feel… well, I didn't know what it was, but I was determined to stay friends with him despite the feelings I had. I loved Stefan.

I rolled onto the bed and listlessly scrolled through the contacts on my phone. I should have asked him for his number, so that way I wouldn't be left waiting here. I was desperate enough that I was about to go find him when my phone rang. The number was "unidentified" but I knew it was him.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Elena, it's Damon." He sounded worried.

I grinned. "Hey!"

"I'm sorry I didn't call earlier, especially after what happened. Are you okay?"

I bit down on my lip, quieting any thoughts of telling him how sad and alone I was. The last thing I needed was breaking down in his arms. "Uh, yeah. I'm fine. Are _you_ okay?"

There was along silence. "I've been trying to figure something out, that's all. It's about Katherine."

"You want to talk about it?"

"Yeah, I do. Is Stefan there?"

I shook my head even though he couldn't see me. "No, he's out with Caroline. Trying to convince her that if she's fast enough the bunnies won't notice when she kills them."

"Poor guy." I could tell his sympathy wasn't completely real.

I laughed. "He is in way over his head. I don't think he's ever been around someone that talks so much."

"No, I don't think so either."

It just then occurred to me what he was asking. "Did you want to come over and talk?"

"Sure." He said. "I'll be there in a few minutes. Bye."

"Bye."

Damon's POV

I had no clue what I was getting myself into, but I figured that Elena might be able to help me out. With no way to find Katherine or find out what she was up to, I had no way to protect Elena.

When I reached the door she smiled as she opened it and let me in. "Good to see you." She said. She blushed just a little and ducked her head as she stepped aside.

"You too."

She made sure that Jenna and Jeremy were both in their rooms before dragging me to hers. I remembered the times when I would have protested loudly. _"No, Elena, I will not go up to your bedroom." _Those days were long gone. Instead I stayed quiet until she shut the door.

"So, this problem?"

I sat down on the bed next to her. "Katherine."

"Yeah." Her eyes flashed with the briefest hint of rage. "Her."

"I don't where she is or what she's doing, just that she wants Stefan out of her way. I thought she came here for… for this stone. It's called the moonstone, and I was sure she would come here to break it's curse. The thing is I haven't seen her in weeks."

"A moonstone? What curse?" When I noticed how confused Elena was I realized she would need more of an explanation than that.

I sighed. "It's supposed to hold the curse of the sun and the moon, keeping vampires slaves to the sun and werewolves servants of the moon."

"Wait, there are werewolves involved in all of this?" she groaned. "Aren't vampires bad enough?"

"None live here." I explained. "The Lockwoods have the gene to be werewolves, but they're not. To become one you have to kill someone. Anyway, I thought Katherine would be after it, but she's not. She's just disappeared into thin air."

Elena nodded. "And you want me to help find her?"

"I thought maybe you could help me figure out where she would go."

Elena frowned, nose crinkling in the most endearing way. "Where would _I _go if I was psychotic?"

"Don't you mean a psychotic bitch?" I asked, batting my eyelashes innocently.

She giggled. "Yeah, that."

I let her mull it over for another five minutes and then stretched, casually leaning back on the bed. "Who knows, maybe she skipped town. It's better for the both of us."

"I don't think so." said Elena. She propped herself up on her elbows and glanced at me. "You thinks she's here for a reason, and if you know about this moonstone then I'm sure she does too. She wouldn't just leave."

"Exactly, and here you see my problem." I said. "Otherwise my plan to protect you would be flawless."

"Your... your what?"

Of course. I knew I would say something stupid sooner or later. "Well, it's—it's just that—I don't know how to say this without out it coming off as stalker-y—" She would never speak to me again, I was sure of it. Who would?

"You're trying to protect me?" she asked, and I noticed that her eyes were shining with tears. Her voice was thick, but it was grateful. She wasn't angry with me. "Why me? You could keep anyone safe, why would you choose me?"

_Because I love you. _"Because my brother is very attached to you, and you're not half bad. I think you deserve to live. Besides, how many people are able to say that they're the doppelganger of a crazed vampire that probably wants them dead?"

"Three people." Elena teased. "Four, counting me."

"Liar." I said. "But that's why."

She contemplated my words in silence, wiping her face free of the tears. I noticed how tired she seemed, the circles under her eyes and the smudged but dry mascara; proof of earlier tears. The old Elena had never let me see this side of her. Had I been so manipulative that she had been afraid to let me? That had been my old tactic; I took advantage of people's weaknesses, and when they were at their weakest.

"Maybe she's with someone."

"What?" I had been so distracted I hadn't realized she had spoken.

"Maybe Katherine had to go ask someone for help with the moonstone." Elena repeated.

_Klaus._ "Or maybe she wanted someone to know she would have it soon…" I slid off the bed. "Elena, I want you to stay here as much as you can."

"Why, what's wrong?"

"I think I know what Katherine's up to."

She looked crestfallen. "So you have to leave?"

"Well, yeah."

And then I dashed down the stairs, throwing a hasty "goodbye!" back at her.

Elena's POV

"Goodbye." I mumbled unhappily. I knew I didn't have any right to pout, but I had wished that he could have stayed. I still didn't have his number, either—

My phone vibrated and I picked it up. One new text message?

_Damon: Hey, in case you ever want to call me – 234-501-3372_

I smiled. I wouldn't call him now, but it was good to be able to.

**A/N: My muse has left me. Sorrry.**


	8. Dishwater

**A/N: So… I found all the comments about my muse needing to get back to work, and he/she did! (no, I have no clue if my muse is a boy or a girl. He/She won't tell me *pout*) Well, sorta, anyway. I want to update this fic weekly if possible. *crosses fingers* let's hope I can stay consistent. **

**Of course, next week is February vacation, so expect a lot of updates on a lot of different fics.**

**Also, in this story, Mason left before Elena was born so he doesn't know she exists.**

Katherine's POV

The Lockwood house was a lot bigger than I remembered it. As I walked toward it, it seemed to mock me. What I was about to do could expose me to half the town—Stefan would be enough trouble—and Elena would start warning all her friends to watch out for me.

I stopped at the intricate glass doors and rapped on them. "Hello?"

A teenage boy, who I was sure was Tyler, opened the door. "Hey, Elena."

"Hey." I responded, trying to keep my voice light as I talked faster than normal. I had studied Elena enough to know she always sounded very cheerful. I liked being slow and seductive, while she was as dull as dishwater. "Tyler, could I talk to you for a minute?"

He seemed surprised, but nodded. "Sure, Elena, come on in."

"Thank you." A smirk traced my lips. _Invited in._

He led me to what had to be the parlor and gestured for me to sit. I did, and waited as he poured some sort of sparkling water from a crystal container. If anything, the Lockwoods were at least ten times as rich as they had been when I'd known them. I nearly took a sip from my glass when I smelled vervain in it. Of course his mother would lace his drinks with vervain. When he looked away I let it pour into a flower vase behind me.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" asked Tyler. "I don't think you've ever come here just to talk."

"Oh… well, no, I guess not." I admitted. Would Elena be nervous about seeing Tyler? I always thought she and Tyler had something going on between each other, but I hadn't gotten enough time to ask around. "I just wanted to ask about something that was my parents'."

"One of the artifacts you loaned us a couple months ago?" he asked. "Why don't you just ask my mom about them?"

I shrugged, saying, "I didn't want to be a bother. It's just this stone, a round, clear one. I think it's called a moonstone."

"Whose was it?"

"My mom's." I hedged, playing the mom card. I batted my eyelashes at him but it went unnoticed. "She—um—she got it somewhere, with dad, I guess—it meant a lot to her—it never got returned, so I was wondering if—?"

"I'll go look." He said. He left his glass on the table and headed to a room that looked like someone's study. I kept my ears alert for any noises. If his parents came home they would be on to me because I was sure they would know the moonstone had been with their family for years. Of course, they had no idea what it was or what they were. They would merely think I was trying to steal it.

"Is this it?" Tyler asked, surprising me. He held up the moonstone in front of me. I took a sharp, quick breath. "What?"

"Oh, just memories…" _Running through the woods, clutching it in my hands so I would be safe when I reached Rose's house, never letting go even when I turned and my family was dead…_ "It's nothing, Tyler, really. Thank you for finding it."

"Any time, Elena."

He showed me out and watched me go. I safely concluded that there was nothing between Elena and Tyler. That left Matt, with the gorgeous blue eyes. I seriously was considering going after him, but first thing first; I had to get some backup.

Pulling out my phone, I dialed a familiar number. "Hello?"

"Katherine?"

"Mason." I said, silky-sweet. "I found it."

"You really found it? How?"

I shook my head at his naïve belief. "It doesn't matter. I found it, and I need your help so that you can be free."

"I'll be there in a day."

Elena's POV

The drink in front of me was melting, little rivulets of water dripping down the soggy paper umbrella. I was stirring the drink with a straw, lazy and content, watching the juice splash the umbrella and make it droop even more.

"Elena?"

"Huh?" I glanced up at Bonnie. Caroline was mirroring her "you-are-so-dead-to-the-world-right-now" look.

"Something on your mind?" she asked.

"No…" I said. It's not like much had changed. I did call Damon a lot more frequently than I did Stefan, but that didn't mean anything. It was just nice to talk to Damon. He always seemed to know just the right thing to say, or how to solve an apparently unsolvable problem.

Caroline groaned. "You look like you have a crush or something. You've been all gushy and weird and distracted the whole time we've been here."

"You have." Added Bonnie. "It's true."

"Well, I love Stefan, so I guess that's it." I said. The words came out a little harsher than I'd intended. "It's like we're falling in love all over again."

"Did you have sex with him?" Caroline asked.

"Caroline!"

"What?" she faked an innocent expression. "I was just asking. Why else would you be falling in love all over again?"

I glanced at Bonnie, who shrugged and said, "Well, are you and him—" she wiggled her eyebrows "—you know?"

"Since a while ago, you creeps." I admitted, blushing despite myself. "And that's not the point, anyway. I'm just really happy." _That Damon's always there for me. I'm really happy about that because we're nothing but friends._

"You're happier than that." Caroline said accusingly. "C'mon, spill. What's going on?"

I shook my head. "Nothing, okay? Look, I'm going to go get another drink. I'll be back in a minute." I headed inside the Grill—Caroline, Bonnie, and I were all outside—and ordered another drink. I was about to take it back to my table when I felt two strong hands gently grab my waist. A rough chin tickled my shoulder, and I nearly said, "Stefan, you have a beard?" when I heard an unfamiliar voice.

"Hey…" he murmured. "Good to see you again." the man's voice was vaguely familiar, but laced with innuendo that made me shudder and twist away.

"Excuse me?" I said. "Who the hell are you?"

The man looked like Mayor Lockwood from a first glance. He was tilting his head, questioning me, like Tyler when something didn't go his way and he didn't know why. "What do you mean, Katherine?"

"Katherine?" _Oh no, Katherine! _I gulped. "I'm not Katherine, I'm Elena Gilbert. You must have made a mistake."

"Elena?" he asked. It wasn't that he knew me more as he was utterly confused. "What do you mean?"

"I have to go." I hurried away and slipped out back, pulling out my cell as I went. "Damon?"

"Yeah?" he sounded sleepy, but I would apologize later.

"Some man that looks very much like Mayor Lockwood tried to hit on me and called me Katherine."

There was a long silence, followed by a, "Damn."

"What?"

"I know the guy.

"Do you?"

"Yeah. He's the kind that just doesn't want to stay dead."


	9. The Wolf's Den

**A/N: And here is another chapter. I've been trying and failing at writing during vacation. There are a thousand better things (aka distractions) to do… like YouTube surf and listen to music and obsess over Twitter (newly discovered, in my case).**

**Ah, well. Anyway, I feel like you deserve a recap of the last chapter (because I need one… forgot what I wrote last chapter).**

_In the last chapter… Katherine got the moonstone from Tyler, called Mason to come help her, and Mason snuck up on Elena from behind and scared her half to death because he was hitting on her since he thought she was Katherine. And then Elena called Damon for help._

Elena's POV

As soon as Damon assured me that he would "take care of Mason" (the thought sent chills through my body) I ran back outside, dialing Stefan's number as I went. Bonnie and Caroline both glanced at my drink-less hands and shot me questioning looks. I shushed them.

"Elena?"

"Stefan, some guy in the bar just hit on me and called me Katherine." I said. It occurred to me that I shouldn't be telling him that, because he might go after Mason and run into Damon.

"What? Who was it?" he asked. I could hear him open and shut a door—probably coming to make sure I was okay.

I sighed. "I don't know, Stefan, and he's already gone."

There was a faint _whoosh_ next to me, and I shrieked when I saw Stefan next to me. Bonnie and Caroline both started.

"STEFAN!" I yelped. "Someone could have seen you!"

He shook his head. "It's fine, Elena. So what did this guy say?"

"Well," I began, knowing Stefan wouldn't like what had happened, "I was getting a drink when he came up behind me and grabbed me waist." Stefan glowered. "He said, 'hey, good to see you again' and when I turned around and freaked he kept calling me Katherine and asking what was wrong."

"Are you okay now?" Stefan asked, putting a possessive hand around my waist. I nodded. "This can't be good. If someone in town thinks Katherine is here then she must be. Either that, or she's trying to send us another message; that she's made a lot of people angry and that they won't mind killing you at all."

I gulped. "You're wrong, you have to be. Why would she want me dead?" _Besides, Damon told me once that if she wanted me dead I would be dead. _

"I don't know." Said Stefan. "But we have to find out. You should go home, or come to the boarding house with me. I have someone there you'd love to meet."

_Who? _"I guess…" I glanced at Caroline and Bonnie, who had been hanging on to my every word. "Guys?"

Bonnie shrugged. "It's fine by me."

Nodding, Caroline said, "Yeah, we don't want Katherine to get you hurt. Of course, I wish she'd show up so that I could give her a piece of my mind."

Bonnie smiled and gently touched Caroline's hand. I could remember when Bonnie had shuddered and jumped away from Caroline in horror when Caroline was first turned, but now it didn't seem to bother her at all. "Me too. That, and a massive witch-induced migraine."

"Okay, I'll call you later." I turned to Stefan, allowing him to lace his fingers through my. "So, who's this friend of yours?"

"You've met her before, but very briefly. I don't think you even caught her name."

Damon's POV

Of course Mason would show up. I had been stupid to think otherwise, but some very vivid memories of dying from a werewolf bite were resurfacing and I had no desire to repeat them. I decided that I would find out what he wanted the polite way and then get rid of him if I had too. Elena might not like it, but I was here to protect her, not to win her over.

The only problem was that he wasn't at the Lockwoods or at Katherine's current house, which meant he was hiding out somewhere. It also meant that there might be a full moon I wasn't aware of. I decided that the best thing to do was find the closest computer and look it up.

Of course, the closest computer I could use was Elena's.

"Damon?" she asked, answering my incessant knocking. "Hey, anything on Mason?"

"Nope." I stepped inside. "Stefan's not here, is he?"

She shook her head. "He said he had some old friend over I might have met before that I should meet, but then Alaric called him about something and he had to go. He said I would be safe here if the person that called me Katherine was a vampire."

"Mmm." I was distracted by the various sketches laid out on the couch. They looked like Jeremy's, and most of them were of a very familiar girl. "So he didn't get the full story, I presume?"

"You presume correctly." She said, sighing and slumping onto the couch. "I just told him some guy hit on me and called me Katherine. I didn't want him to realize it was Mason and cross paths with you."

"Thanks." I said. I casually sat next to her, leaning across her legs to get a sketch. "Hey, do you know who this girl is?"

Elena shook her head. "No. I think she's some friend of Jeremy's."

I whistled. "She's a very attractive friend."

"Yeah, I think he liked her a lot. He says she's kind of annoying and clingy, but she's been growing on him."

I stared at the picture like it could tell me who the girl was. Where had I heard something like that before? She sounded and looked so familiar, but the sketch was blurred—charcoal, most likely—so it was hard to place her name. "Huh. Anyway, I was wondering if I could use your computer? I need to look up something."

"Sure." She said. She brushed aside a few other sketches of what were suspiciously similar to vampires and headed through the doorway. When she came back she had both her computer and old cartons of Chinese food. "Hungry?"

"Not particularly." I said. I took the laptop and started to type rapidly.

"So, what are you looking for?"

"This and that." I said. "More specifically, whether or not tonight's a full moon. See, your friend from the bar… he's a werewolf."

"Mason's a werewolf?" she looked ridiculous, noodles hanging from her fork and falling onto her stomach. "Is he a Lockwood too?"

"You caught onto that?" I asked.

"Yup. He was a cross between Tyler and the Mayor, I could see it."

"He's the Mayor's brother, I guess." I said. The details were foggy. I pulled up a weather report. "Like I thought; there's a full moon. I couldn't find him anywhere because he's probably chaining himself up in some remote cave."

"Why?" Elena's innocent eyes were already swimming with pity for a man that had tried to hurt her once, in the past that I knew.

I shrugged. "He's a do-gooder, and the transformations are hard to control. He doesn't want to hurt people."

"Oh."

I shut the laptop and started to get up. I set it on the table amidst the sketches. "Thanks."

"Yeah… where are you going?"

"Home. Werewolf bites are fatal to a vampire, so I need to stay inside. Tell Stefan the same."

"He'll suspect you if I tell him that there are werewolves in town." She protested, blocking the doorway. "I can't give you away like that."

"Don't." I said. Her huge brown eyes were burning into me. "It's okay; just tell him you have a really bad feeling about tonight and that he should stay home. Stay _with _him, at the boardinghouse, if you want."

"I could do that." She admitted. "But what if Mason gets him?"

I took one of her trembling hands. "I can promise you that he'll be safe. I promise."

She just kept bobbing her head up and down, saying, "I know."

After I minute I let her hand go. "I have to leave now, but I'll call you later."

"Okay. Please don't get hurt, Damon." She begged. "Please?"

"I won't. Stay with Stefan."

As she closed the door I could have sworn I heard her whisper something, but it couldn't have been what I thought it was.

_I wish I could stay with you._

Elena's POV

What was wrong with me? Why was it that every time Damon was around I instantly broke down or started acting like we were together. I also knew I shouldn't say things that he could hear even though he was out of the house.

The worst part was that I almost wanted him to turn around and come back.

"Stop it, Elena!" I scolded myself, texting Stefan. "Just try and act like Stefan's your boyfriend for once. And stop talking to yourself."

_Can I come over? I have a weird feeling about tonight… full moon jitters, I guess. ~ Elena_

_Full moon jitters? Why? ~ Stefan_

What was wrong with me? Why would I ever say that to Stefan? I groaned and flopped onto the couch, trying to think of a reason why the full moon would make me jittery.

_Um… I read somewhere it gets animals worked up. And mammals count. And I'm a mammal. I don't know, Stefan, I just feel like something bad is going to happen tonight and I want to make sure you're safe. ~ Elena_

_No problem. Come on over, my friend still wants to see you. We have to talk about what Alaric called me for, by the way. ~Stefan_

_Yeah, what did he want? ~ Elena_

_I'll tell you when you get here. ~Stefan_

_Okay. I love you. ~Elena_

_I love you too. ~Stefan_

That was more like it. I didn't need to grab any clothes—Stefan's would do just fine.

The whole drive I felt like a wolf would jump out of the shadows at any minute. It was only around 9:30, and according to Damon there would be no wolves until 10:00 at the earliest. It all had something to do with the moon being at it's peak or height… I hadn't listened very closely and was beginning to regret it.

When someone answered the door I ran into their arms, crying, "I was worried that you were hurt!"

"Ummm… yeah."

I backed up enough to see a blond girl's slightly surprised face. "You are…?" She was oddly familiar.

"Lexi." She said, detaching me. "Stefan!" she yelled down the hallway. "Your girl friend's here!"

"Oh, you're the friend I met for five second but didn't know the name of." I said. "I'm Elena." I could remember her now; she had been at Stefan's birthday party. He had been so busy making sure nothing went wrong with Alaric (who he thought was evil) that Lexi and I had bumped into each other, but the lack of formal introduction led me to believe that she was a normal person, and that there was nothing supernatural about her whatsoever. Apparently, I was sorely mistaken.

"I know." Lexi smiled pleasantly. She seemed like the kind of person that could be happy no matter what. "Stefan won't stop talking about you, it's annoying."

"Sorry about that." I said. Stefan rounded the corner. "Speaking of Stefan—"

"Hey." He drew me into a tight hug. "Sorry that you're all freaked out, but look: I'm fine."

"You and Lexi both seem fine." I said.

"I appreciate the thought, if it helps." Lexi teased, heading for the livingroom.

I groaned. "I should look before I launch myself at someone and get all sappy. At least I didn't kiss her."

"Now _that _I would pay to see." Someone behind Stefan said. The voice was familiar, and I felt electricity up and down my spine. Peering over Stefan's shoulder, I saw the person I least wanted to see in the room.

Mason.

He was looking at me like nothing was wrong at all. "So you're the famous Elena." He said. "I'm Mason Lockwood, a friend of Alaric's."

"A recent friend." Alaric corrected from the couch. "I met him today while I was tracking someone."

"Who?" I had no idea what to do, but my heart was pounding out of my chest. Stefan looked at me quizzically.

Alaric said, "You might want to brace yourself."

"Why?" I couldn't take the suspense anymore, I just couldn't. Stefan was trying to pull me aside—probably to ask me what had me so scared—but I wrenched my arm away. "Who was it?"

"It—she—was Isobel. She's still alive... in the undead sense."

I felt my throat go dry. "Oh."

My legs carried me past everyone, out the door and across the neatly-kept lawn. In the back of my mind I was wondering how it was so nice, but Zach had to be the one that took care of it. It didn't even matter.

I stopped underneath a willow tree, panting. What was I going to do? Mason was in Stefan's house, it was almost a full moon, and apparently my mother was a vampire and in town. I desperately wanted to call Damon, but Stefan was already at my side.

"What happened back there?" he asked. I stayed huddled on the ground when he tried to help me up, shivering.

"It's nothing." I bit out through clenched teeth.

Stefan shook his head, denying it. "No, you were starting to panic before Alaric mentioned Isobel. Something was wrong."

I didn't intend on telling Stefan about Mason. I wouldn't give up Damon now. "I'm fine Stefan, I just need a minute. Please?"

He sighed, wearing his "I-suffer-in-silence" look, but he left me alone. As soon as he disappeared into the house I whipped out my phone. "Damon?" I said. Tears slid down my face, and my voice was already thick.

"Elena? What's wrong?"

"He's here, Damon, he's here!" I choked out. "I'm so scared. He's here, and the moon's almost up, and he's going to hurt Stefan but there's no way I can warn him without giving you away or alerting him."

"Who is 'him', Elena?" Damon asked. "Breathe for a minute, calm down. I just need to know who's there."

"Mason is. He's Alaric's new f-friend." I gasped. I took Damon's advice and gulped in a few hasty breaths. "He's at the boardinghouse. So are Stefan, Lexi, and Alaric."

I heard a few indistinct swears. "Can you give Stefan and Lexi a plausible reason to leave? A werewolf won't hurt people. Usually they just go after the closest vampire."

"No. I don't think Mason would believe anything I said was true." I said. "I think he knows by now that I'm Katherine's doppelganger, but he's pretending that he just met me." I sniffed. "What can I do?"

"You can go back inside there and tell Stefan what you know." Damon said.

"No!"

"Why not?" despite the gravity of the situation, Damon sounded back to his usual self. "You don't have to tell him where you heard it, do you?"

"He'll want to know."

"Too bad." I could practically see the smirk on his face. "He'll have to be happy with just being alive."

I thought about it for a minute. "Fine. Do werewolves have super-hearing?"

"Nope."

"Alright." I got up to my feet and brushed the grass of my skirt. "I have to go."

"Wait!"

"What?" I asked. "Damon, I don't have much time left. Not according to your calculations."

He said, "I know. The thing is, right now Mason should be in the kind of pain that would have him doubled over on the floor."

I glanced through one of the windows. "I can't see much from here, but he looks fine to me. He was fine when I got here."

"He can't be turning then, it's not possible for him to be fine."

"He is, Damon." I said. "Look, I'm going to go get Stefan and Lexi anyway."

"Be careful." Typical Damon. "Oh, and… good luck."

I rolled my eyes as I tucked my phone back into my pocket and headed into the house. I could do this.

Mason was seated next to Lexi, a feral grin on his face. I could see the wolfish features if I looked closely, and they unnerved me. Stefan, hanging near Lexi, came over to me. "Are you alright now?"

I nodded. "I have to talk to you, though. Right now."

"Elena!" Alaric interrupted, spotting my by the doorway. "I'm sorry if I upset you." He began, but I cut him off.

"It's fine." I said. "Stefan, please?"

"Sure." Mason was watching me carefully. He could probably smell the fear radiating from me a mile away.

I pulled Stefan into the next room. "You and Lexi have to leave right now." I said.

"Why? Elena, is this about whatever you're not telling me?" Stefan was genuinely worried, and he wanted to help. Unfortunately, I only wanted him to leave before he got killed.

I had both fists balled up at my sides. "I know Mason. He was at the bar. He's a _werewolf_, Stefan, and he will kill you when he turns, which will be soon."

"He was the man at the bar?" Stefan was outraged. "You know him? Why didn't you say so?"

"I couldn't." I said. "I just want you to know you _should not_ pick a fight with him. You need to get out with Lexi as discreetly as you can."

He was so confused. "But how do you even know he's a werewolf? Why would that be bad?"

"I can't tell you." I said. "I know that werewolf bites are fatal to vampires, but that's all. I don't know what time he'll turn, whether it will be in ten minutes or five. Please, Stefan, get out. Run as far as you can and don't come back until morning."

He took my hands and rubbed his thumbs along the edges of them. "Okay."

"Really?" I had expected a fight, or lots of "Elena you have lost it" but got this. _This is why I love him. _I reminded myself.

Out in the living room Mason had supposedly gone off to the bathroom while we were talking. "You okay?" asked Alaric. I nodded. "So, do you want to hear what I found out?"

"I guess." I said. Stefan had already sat next to Lexi and was talking to her in a low tone. "What was she doing?"

"I think she was spying on the town." Alaric said. A wrinkle along his forehead told me just how hard having his wife back again was for him. "Besides that, all I know is that she's a vampire, and I think she's working for someone."

"Who?" _Hurry, hurry, hurry…_ I urged Stefan and Lexi in my mind. If they left before Mason came back it would be even less obvious we were on to him.

He shrugged. "I don't know. Just some guy she kept calling. I think his name was Elijah."

I saw Lexi's eyes widen, and she sprang up from the couch. "I should go."

"Good idea." I said, nodding my head the smallest fraction of an inch. She seemed to understand what I meant. "You too, Stefan?"

"Yes." He leaned to kiss my head. "Sorry, Alaric, Elena can explain later."

"Vampire troubles?"

"You could say that—"

I heard a tremendous crash from farther in the house. "Stefan?"

He was in front of me in an instant, shielding me. "What was that?"

Then the absolute worst thing crashed through the doorway.

It was Mason. I could see it in the cruel, bloodthirsty eyes. The wolf was lean and shaggy, with enormous fangs and a vicious, bestial smile on its face. It barked sharply at Stefan and Lexi, springing for them like a gray blur. Of course werewolves would posses the same vampiric speed. Why not?

I ducked as the furry gray mass flew over my head. "Stefan!" I screamed. I could see him holding the wolf away from his face, then throwing is across the room. Alaric was up and armed with one of his stake-throwing gadgets. Mason snarled at them and leapt again, undeterred by a volley of stakes.

"Stefan!" this time the scream wasn't mine. Lexi was pinned to the floor and Mason has sunken his teeth into her shoulder.

"Lexi! No!" I wasn't thinking anymore. I half fell, half tripped over the back of the couch and landed on Masons' back. It was much stronger than I had anticipated. "Let. Her. Go!" I shrieked like a two-year-old that wanted a toy back. Each scream was punctuated with an ineffective punch. He didn't even feel it, as far as I could see. Instead I felt a deep rumble in his throat, like he was laughing, and he threw me off.

Lexi was writhing under him when Stefan came to the rescue and sent Mason flying at the fireplace. The strong smell of burning fur invaded the place, and Mason retreated temporarily to a corner to roll around and put out his fur.

"Out the window!" Stefan ordered, smashing the closest window down. Alaric helped haul a dazed Lexi through. She was mumbling and complaining about being able to walk herself. Stefan held out a hand for me when she was safely out. "Elena, hurry!"

I was halfway over when I felt teeth sink into my leg.

"Elena!" Stefan launched himself back into the boardinghouse and wrenched Mason away from me. Bleeding, panting, and disoriented, I somehow managed to get over the broken bits of glass and the windowsill. My hands were sliced to ribbons.

I hit the ground and curled into a ball. I couldn't walk. My leg was on fire and all I could see was red. I had to have hit my head, because it was throbbing and I was pretty sure that the red I was seeing was blood.

Somewhere in the foggy distance I could hear Stefan yelling something and Mason howling. I got up and ran to the closest bush before I fell. Three people ran off, the blond one being dragged by the others. That was Lexi. Why were they leaving? Did Stefan think I had already run to safety?

Just before I blacked out I saw two icy blue eyes staring into mine, and reassuring voice saying, "I've got you. You're safe."

**A/N: Yes, Lexi was actually bitten. Proceed throwing rocks at my house.**


	10. You'll Be The Death Of Me

**A/N: So the last chapter was insane and ended abruptly. I just had to keep writing. **

**Edit: I wrote that AN above like five days ago… it was right after I posted chapter 10. I planned to get this up as soon as possible and somehow managed to write half and then abandon it for a really long time. And if you can't tell from the first few paragraphs, I was in a very strange frame of mind, like I am today. Everything just feels so wrong today, and I don't know why. It was dark this morning at like seven and there was snow and it was just weird…**

**I also updated less fics than I thought I would over vacation. Darn.**

**Edit 2: (I'll stop soon I promise) I just wanted to dedicate this super-long chapter to laugh4life, who has been my beta for this story ever since my old one left. She's an amazing writer (go read her VD fics, they're incredible!) and somehow manages to put up with all my typos, strange ways of phrasing things, ridiculous grammatical errors., and all my panic PM's from NaNoWriMo. So… go over and check out her stories, maybe even leave a review (they are appreciated, you know). **

**Thanks for beta-ing my story :)**

**And now onto the story (I promise there will be no more neurotic AN's)**

Elena's POV

I was surrounded by black and the iron tang of blood, like pennies. Were pennies iron? No, they were copper… I felt giddy. Someone in the distance giggled madly, echoing like pieces of broken glass raining from the sky in flashes of red, like blood. Blood and pennies. Blood and pennies and laughter.

Was I going insane?

Slowly there was a floor beneath me, damp and rough like concrete. There was a distinct smell of mildew. I tried to open my eyes but they were too heavy to move, like the rest of my body was. My legs weren't even there anymore. I couldn't feel them, anyway.

"Elena?"

That voice… I had heard it when I was slipping away on the lawn, when Mason was after us. The events of the night before flashed past my eyelids like a sped-up movie. Lexi had been bitten, and Damon said that a werewolf bite was fatal to a vampire. How could I let that happen? I should have told them who Mason was before running off and calling Damon. Then Stefan and Lexi could have dealt with Mason somehow so he wouldn't hurt anyone.

"Elena, are you awake? I heard you laughing." So the giggles had been me. I wanted desperately to say something but it was too dark and warm wherever I was. It was like drowning calmly.

A patient sigh—or an impatient one—echoed somewhere above my head. "You have to wake up soon. There's a lot of things we have to figure out. Like how Mason was perfectly fine with a full moon above and why Isobel's here—I saw her, and I guess Alaric did too."

I found I could move my hand and batted at thin air. It felt like my hands were wrapped in that funny packing stuff with the little bubbles that popped. What was it called? My joints could barely move.

"Hey… hey, can you hear me?"

I focused on the voice, Damon's voice, and let it bring me back to the surface. Suddenly I jolted upward, eyes wide open, gasping for breath. "Damon!"

"Hey." He was next to me, taking hold of my shivering form and hugging me. "It's just me, Elena. You're safe, I promise."

I clung onto him. "What about the others?"

"Besides Lexi?" he asked. I winced. "Fine. You were a mess when I found you."

I pulled away and drank in his face, his icy blue eyes that were so beautiful and psychotic at the same time. "What happened?"

He gestured to my leg, now wrapped in gauze and taped meticulously. "Mason got your leg, and you managed to escape with Stefan's help. You cut your hands badly too. I think it was when you climbed through the window."

I realized my hands were also heavily bandaged. Clearly imagining bubble wrap—that was what it was called!—wasn't completely from my insane mind. "Oh… yeah. Will Lexi be okay?"

Damon wouldn't look at me. "No. The only cure doesn't exist yet."

"What?"

"She needs the blood of a hybrid, half vampire and half werewolf. Sadly for Lexi, such a thing doesn't exist yet, and never should."

"Why not?" I said tearfully. "I don't want Lexi to die. She's Stefan's _best friend_, Damon, how many other friends do you think he has? He doesn't have anyone but her."

He shook his head. "There's nothing you can do. In fact, you should probably lay low. Stay at home if you can; vampires with werewolf bites become insane or hallucinate and attack humans because of the hunger. Besides, she might think you were Katherine and try to kill you for screwing with Stefan's head."

I said, "So what? Stefan will need me, and I want to try and get to know Lexi before she's gone." _It's the least I can do, considering that this is all my fault. _

"No." said Damon firmly. "Stay home with Jenna. You might want to tell her about vampires and werewolves, now that I think of it."

"Why?" I could never see a reason why I would want to bring Jenna into such a terrifying world.

He shrugged. "How you going to explain the werewolf bite and shredded hands?"

"Wolf attack?"

"And how did you get rescued?"

I smiled. "My knight in shining armor came and saved me. Or paramedics, either one."

"Oh, really?" he said, but I saw a playful glint in his eyes. "Why didn't the hospital call her and tell her what happened?"

"You're impossible!" I moaned, opting for insults rather than the answer I didn't have. "You're just…. Annoying! And you're incorrigible and stubborn and immature—well, sometimes—and you have that weird mysterious thing going on and you follow me around _everywhere_—"

Very suddenly my lips met his and I squeaked in surprise. I could feel my face turning cherry red. Yes, I had thought about kissing Damon before, but I had never thought it would actually happen. I could barely process the sensation of his lips against my, very warm and not dead, or the one hand trailing through my hair as the other stayed at my waist. Before I could do a thing Damon jerked away like he'd been electrocuted.

"Sorry." He said sheepishly.

"Yeah." I said. "That's okay. I should have stopped you."

"I shouldn't have—you know—in the first place." He said. He looked mortified and regretful. "I know we can't ever be together."

"What?" that took me by surprise. "Then why did you kiss me?"

"Because you're adorable." He said. "You're sitting on my bed in the middle of nowhere with a major leg wound—"

"—_major _leg wound?—"

"—and you're going on about how I'm incorrigible while you should be freaking out." He finished. "I felt like I should kiss you." He noticed the smile creeping across my face. "But I shouldn't have."

"Oh." I finally managed. "I guess we should just forget it and try to figure out what we should be doing now? Like going to see Lexi?"

"No." he said. He got up and knelt down next to a soggy cardboard box, rummaging through the contents. "Besides, how can you get there if you can't walk and I can't take you?"

"Why can't you take me?" I persisted.

"Stefan will see me." He said, handing me a bottle of water. "Drink up, I can't have you passing out."

I obeyed. "What time is it, anyway?"

"Sometime in the morning, but it's early." He said. "How about I take you home? I can't let Jenna actually see me—unless she can keep a secret—but I could drive you."

"She can, and you have a car?" I asked, absently crinkling the water bottle.

"I do now."

"Meaning?"

He grinned. "I may have stolen Mason's to get you out with jarring your leg too much. I figured running wouldn't be a good idea, and it would leave blood everywhere. Mason might have tracked you out of instinct or hunger."

"That is disgusting." I said. "He would have eaten me?"

Damon came over and offered me a hand. "Not so much 'eaten' as ripped you to pieces."

"Oh joy." I managed to stand by clutching onto Damon's arm and awkwardly hobbling along as he walked slower than a turtle. "This is harder than expected."

"Does your leg hurt?" he asked immediately. "We can stop for a minute, if you want."

"No, I'm fine." I said quickly. "I meant that it's slow."

He swung me into his arms too fast I thought I was falling for a second and screamed. Then I was clinging to his neck and gasping while he laughed at me. "Sorry."

"It's fine." I mumbled, curling into him. "You're awfully warm for someone who's dead, you know."

"I know." He kissed the top of my head, so quickly I couldn't react. I didn't want to, anyway. It was innocent, right? I still loved Stefan.

When we reached Mason's car—which in my opinion looked like a giant black tank that was probably bulletproof—Damon let me lay down in the back and curl into a tiny ball. I was still sleepy, but he told me not to fall asleep if I could help it.

"Why not?" I complained, pulling a worn blanket around my shoulders.

He shrugged. "You might have a concussion. I doubt it, though."

"I what?"

"You might have gotten a concussion when you fell through the window, but it wasn't very far."

I snorted. "Yes, because that makes everything okay."

"It's fine." He said. "You woke up faster than I thought you would, so I'm sure you're fine. You just can't sleep for a while so I can make sure you're fine."

I shot him a baleful look and pulled the blanket around me even tighter. "I hate you."

"Sure you do." His tone was playful, teasing. I hadn't seen him like this a lot.

"I do!"

"Keep it up, it'll only keep you awake." He said.

"Don't make fun of me, mister." I said. "I'll throw something at you if you do."

He laughed. "First of all, I'm driving, so we'd crash; second of all, you don't have anything to throw."

I slid out of under the blanket and began to ball it up in my fist. "Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah."

The rest of the ride involved a fight that I lost very, very badly. Even while he was fending me off Damon still managed to drive in a perfectly straight line, which was even more annoying than when he was making fun of me for getting stuck between the passenger seat and the driver's seat. When we reached home he had to help me out.

"And why are car fights a bad idea?" he asked me as we made our slow way to the door.

"They're not safe, and probably illegal." I pouted. "You just wait, I'll get you eventually."

"Oh, you will?"

"Yes, I will." I let go of him and leaned heavily on the door. "Can you get the key from under that flowerpot?"

"Sure." He retrieved the shiny silver key and handed it over.

I paused mid-click in the lock and sighed. "I don't want to tell her."

"You have to." He insisted. "I'll even stay if you want, for proof. I trust that she won't tell Stefan."

"She'll be scared." I said weakly. I knew in all honesty it was the best thing I could do for Jenna, but I didn't want her to be afraid. I was already in so deep, but there was a chance for her to think everything was okay. I wanted her to have that innocence.

He sighed. "She'll have to deal with it, Elena. She has to know."

"Fine." I finished unblocking the door and started limping in. "But don't you dare say anything, I don't want you to scare her with your weirdness."

Jenna was seated at the counter, talking to Jeremy. When she saw me her eyes flew open and she rushed over. "Elena!"

"Hey, Jenna." I gasped out during her rib-crushing hug. When she pulled away I smiled ruefully.

"What happened to you?" she asked, taking I my leg, my hands, and the bruises I could feel all over my face and arms. "And who is this?"

"Damon." He said with a brief wave.

"Damon who?"

"Just Damon." He knew he couldn't say he was a Salvatore.

Jenna gave him her signature "you've-got-the-bad-boy-look-and-I-don't-trust-you" tense smile and nod. "Elena, did he hurt you?"

"No, of course not!" I exclaimed. "There was an incident at Stefan's… see, there was a wolf, and—"

"A wolf?" Jenna was incredulous. "Sure there was. Did Stefan hurt you?"

"No, he didn't!" I said. "But there's something I have to tell you…"

Katherine's POV

Laying low was starting to get boring.

Mason had come to see me after his attempt to kill Stefan and Lexi—I had sent him because I figured a werewolf bite would help speed up the process of being able to manipulate Stefan—but I sent him away. He was still so clingy, even after nearly eight months. Instead of telling him I'd never been interested I told him that I was busy. He didn't mention anything else, aside from his encounter with Elena. He ended up leaving, saying I could find him at the Lockwoods.

Now I was shadowing the place, trying to decide if I should be worried. He had been texting me for the last half hour, asking if I had the moonstone and if he could see it. Even worse, Isobel had been calling me constantly. My phones buzzed in my pocket almost immediately after I thought of her, and I frustrated wrench it out.

"What!"

"Katherine, you need to calm down." Said Isobel in that annoyingly disinterested voice. "I just wanted you to know that Elijah will be coming down here soon. You need to get a witch as fast as you possibly can."

I groaned. "Why can't he get his own damn witch? The only around here is that Bennett girl, and I'm sure she's on vervain. Besides, it's not like her family owes me anymore."

"What about that leverage you said you would get?"

"Stefan and Lexi?" I snorted. "As far as Mason could tell they got away without a scratch. He couldn't remember much, just that when he woke he had a few broken ribs and singed hair."

Isobel sighed gustily. In the background I could just barely the sound of a man's voice, but nothing else. "That's unfortunate."

"It is." I replied.

"So… how did the stuff I gave you work for Mason?"

"Oh, that." I said. "He said he didn't turn until five minutes before the moon crested, and that he wasn't even in pain until two minutes before that. He snuck to the bathroom and changed there."

"And he still failed." Her icy tone even had me a bit unnerved.

I got up from my hiding place at the edge of Lockwood territory and started to make my way to the back. "He did, but I'm sure he could still be useful. I just have to convince him that I'm using the moonstone for his good and not mine. He keeps asking for it."

"You have to get rid of him."

"No, I don't." I insisted. "I can't, anyway. He's been jumpy enough as it is, and he's on so much vervain it hurts just to kiss him. The stuff practically radiates from his skin, not to mention his _mouth_—"

"I really don't want to hear the torrid details of your romance with him. Just snap his neck." Isobel offered casually. "That would only take about two seconds."

"But we need a werewolf for Elijah!" I said. "And there is no way I can find another one, not with having to get Bonnie as well."

I heard the faint click of high heels. Isobel had to be back at her current house, probably with several humans as _entertainment_. Of course, I couldn't be one to judge considering the things I'd done. "You have to do something."

I wanted more than anything to slam the phone against the stone was I was currently hiding behind. "No, Isobel, I can't. Elijah will kill me if he gets here and he doesn't have a werewolf."

"Aren't all the Lockwood werewolves?" asked Isobel.

"No, they haven't changed the whole time I've been here…" It suddenly occurred to me what she was saying. "Oh."

"It'll be easy." Isobel assured me. "Just make one of them trigger the curse, and you'll have your new wolf."

"And Mason?"

"Kill him. Make it quick."

I nodded even though she couldn't see me. "Fine. I have to go."

I didn't wait for a reply, slamming my phone back in my pocket. First I had to have Tyler trigger his curse; he seemed like the best choice. He was young and stupid so he would never see it coming.

I saw him through one of the windows and crouched lower, behind a bush. "There you are… now who should I have you kill? It should be poetic."

I had seen the way he had looked at Caroline before, but I knew that wouldn't work. That left a wide array of friends, none of which he cared much about. I knew it didn't really matter who he killed, but I did want to send another message to Stefan. I may not have gotten him, but I would get to Elena. It would be easy.

Suddenly I had an image in my head; Elena, at home, smiling and laughing at the TV with her head in the lap of a brown-haired boy that had the Gilbert look about him.

"Perfect."

Elena's POV

Jenna took it better than I had thought… at least until Damon changed his face to show her it was true. That was when she screamed and ran to her bedroom, where she locked herself inside. I sat outside and pleaded and begged for her to come out. Eventually Damon helped me open the door by breaking the lock, so I could go inside.

Now she was huddled on her bed, crying. I sat there and held her, rocking back and forth and trying so hard not to break down in tears too. "It's okay, Jenna, it's okay, I promise. I promise." I mumbled, wanting for it to be true.

Jenna shook her head. "The stories your mom used to tell me, they were all true. I can't believe it. And now you're the one that's in danger." Her huge brown eyes were dripping with tears and mascara tracked down her face. Strawberry blond strands framed her face, making her look like a child. It only made me remember how vulnerable Jenna would be, no matter how strong she appeared to be on the outside.

I hugged her closer. "I'll be fine Jenna. I promise I will."

"You're in danger. Damon said so."

_And he's going to get what he deserves soon enough,_ I thought angrily. He had jumped in a couple times when I had tried to make everything seem less scary, pointing out that as Katherine's doppelganger I was in a lot of danger all of the time. "No I'm not."

She just kept shaking her head and sobbing in my arms. Why did she have to deal with all of this? It wasn't fair. "Please don't cry, Jenna, everything is okay." I pleaded, tears welling in my eyes.

There was a noise and I saw Damon hanging in the doorway. He was obviously upset by how badly Jenna was taking the news. It made me feel a little better.

"Need anything?" he mouthed. I shook my head and he nodded in reply and left.

All I could do was hope Jenna would be okay.

Damon's POV

It broke my heart to see Elena holding Jenna like she was child, begging her not to cry, but I knew it was for the best. I had to protect Jenna, and that meant making sure she was aware of how eerily good Katherine was pretending to be Elena; it had gotten her killed in the world I was from. Besides, she had recovered from the shock last time. She could do it again.

Downstairs Jeremy was lounging on the couch. While Elena had been explaining what was going on he hadn't seemed the least bit surprised. I still couldn't figure out what it meant, but I knew he had found out somehow. If I was right he had probably read Elena's journal like last time and was playing dumb so I'd leave him alone.

I came closer and saw the sketch he was working on. It was the same girl as in the other ones, but still unidentifiable. "Who's that?"

"Huh?" he was blurring the edges of the girl's face with an eraser. "Oh, her? Just a friend."

"I'd say she's a very good-looking friend." I said. "I think I might have seen her before somewhere."

"You couldn't." Jeremy said, never looking up from the sketch. "She's new in town. She's supposed to be coming over later."

"Really?" I kept getting the strangest feeling when I saw her, and it bothered me that I couldn't remember who she was. "That's good."

"Sure." Jeremy got up, leaving the half-finished drawing on the coffee table. "Do you know if Jenna's going to be okay?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. You seem fine, though, maybe you can convince her it will be."

"Maybe." He said. The doorbell rang. "I should get that."

I settled back on the couch, determined to wait it out until Elena came downstairs or until Stefan showed up, if he ever would. I was sure he would stay with Lexi until she was gone so I would be safe for the day.

Then Jeremy came back in. The so-called friend was with him, but she had her back turned to me. Black curls hung down her back and her voice was familiar.

"Hey, this is Damon." Jeremy said. The girl turned around and I saw two suddenly recognizable brown, almond-shaped eyes and a flawless smile. "He's a friend of Elena's, I guess."

She nodded. "Hi. I'm Anna."

"Hi, Anna." I said. "It's nice to meet you."

This was beyond a disaster, and I knew it. All I could think of was getting everyone in the house out, or finding some excuse to get rid of Anna.

She kept pretending like she didn't know who I was and went with Jeremy to "talk" in his room. As soon as they disappeared I sprinted up the stairs—human speed, not vampire speed—and stopped outside Jenna's bedroom door.

Elena's POV

It took a while, but Jenna stopped crying. She looked a little sheepish at having broken down so easily, but I told her it would be okay no matter what and that I didn't care. I was about to take her back downstairs when Damon showed up in the doorway. "Elena, we should talk right now."

"Is Jeremy okay?" I asked. He had seemed fine when I explained everything, but you could never tell with teenage boys.

"He's perfectly fine. Just hanging out with his friend, Anna." He sounded tense.

Jenna smiled. "Anna's here? I've met her before, she's really friendly. A little antisocial, but I think she's good for Jeremy."

"I'm sure she is." He said tersely. "Elena, can we just go talk for a minute?"

I glanced at Jenna, who nodded. Damon dragged me by the arm to my bedroom, locking the door when we were in. "What?" I asked. "Is it Stefan, or Lexi? I still want to go see her, by the way, and you can't stop me."

"It's Anna." He said. "I know her from before I was turned, she's a daughter of a friend of Katherine's."

I couldn't even act surprised. "Of course she is, because why would anyone in this family have a normal friend?"

"I think it's how Jeremy already knew about vampires." Said Damon. He sat down on the bed next to me. "I don't know what she wants, but from past experience I'd say she's trying to get her mother back."

"Why?"

"Wouldn't you do the same for your mom?" he asked. I nodded. "Exactly. There's no ulterior motive, she just wants her mom back. The only bad part is all the other evil tomb vamps that will get out."

"Always a problem." I agreed. "So, what do we do?"

"Nothing." He shushed me before I could start yelling. "I know it doesn't seem like the best idea, but there's too much to deal with already."

"Fine." I said. "Will Jeremy be safe with her?"

"Are you safe with me?" he countered.

I frowned. "That's a stupid question; of course I am."

"She loves him. He'll been fine." Said Damon. He sounded sure, and I decided to believe him.

I said, "Good. So what now?"

"I don't know. How about I apologize to Jenna for scaring her?" he suggested. I grinned. "I thought that would make you feel better."

"And then you'll take me to go see Lexi." I stated calmly.

His eyebrows disappeared into his hairline. "I will?"

"Or I'll go by myself." I threatened. "And then if he's too busy with Lexi you might as well escort me to the charity event at the Lockwoods later today."

"It's a plan." He got up and offered me an arm. "All we need is a pair of crutches for you, and un-mangled clothes for me." He gestured to the slightly torn shirt. "Getting you out was harder than expected."

I smiled softly and took his arm. "Sounds good."

It took a while to get to the boardinghouse because of the stop we had to make at Damon's place, but eventually we got there.

"If anything bad happens, scream for help." He told me. "I don't know if Stefan's even back there yet."

I nodded. "I promise."

I made my slow but steady way up the driveway—Damon had stolen a pair of crutches from the hospital for me—and knocked on the door. There was a long pause before Stefan opened the door.

"Elena?" he gasped. He took in all my injuries and then drew me into a tight hug. I could hear his rough breathes and knew he was crying. I was too. "I thought you got away, ahead of us, but then you were gone."

"I know."

"What happened?" he asked, pulling away to he could look at me but not letting go. "Did you get away after us or before us?"

"After." I said. "I… I guess it was a miracle. I passed out, and then I woke up near my house. I managed to get to a hospital." Stefan winced. "I'm fine. I also told Jenna about everything. She deserved to know."

"That's good." Stefan said. He helped me inside before he finally let me go. "I would have gone to find you, but—"

"Lexi." I said. "Is she okay?"

He nodded. I was surprised. "But I thought that werewolf bites were fatal."

"Apparently not." He said, leading me upstairs. "She was burning up for hours, but then she got better. It was like she had the flu."

I wanted to believe him, but I knew Damon wouldn't lie to me. Maybe he had gotten his facts wrong. I hoped that he had, because I was sure it would brighten his day to know Lexi wouldn't die. She didn't mean much to him, but Stefan did.

Lexi was propped up in Stefan's bed. She was deadly pale, but smiling as brightly as ever. "Elena. Glad you finally turned up."

"Yeah, me too." I said. Her happiness was infectious. "I thought I was wolf chow for a minute there."

"Speaking of Mason," began Stefan, "We seriously need to do something about him."

"Later." I said, shooing him aside and climbing into the bed with Lexi, who laughed at his serious Stefan face. "It's not like he can turn again, not until next month."

"She's right." Lexi said. I slid under the covers until my face was covered up to my nose and batted my eyelashes at Stefan. Lexi continued, "Come on, Stefan. We can't find out what he's up to if he's dead."

"Yeah, Stefan." I chimed in. He glared. "We can't."

A rare smile broke over his face. "You two are ridiculous. I won't do anything for now, if you insist."

"We win!" Lexi cheered. "One point for girls!"

Stefan shrugged. "Oh well. Elena, about today's charity event—"

"You should stay here." I interrupted. "Don't worry about it, I'll go with Jeremy and Jenna."

"You sure?" he looked immensely relieved.

"Positive." I said. "It's no big deal, anyway. The Lockwoods host so many parties I lose track."

"They do."

After wishing Lexi my best I went back to Damon's car. He was hiding in the back, and I had to drive out of sight of the boardinghouse before he would take the wheel again.

"Just a precaution." He assured me. "I'm not letting you drive anymore with that bad leg."

"Thank goodness." I sighed. "So, off to the party?"

"Off to the party we go."

Katherine's POV

I snuck into the back of the Lockwood house and made sure to keep out of everyone's way. I didn't do a thing until I saw Jeremy and Jenna show up. I had to shadow Jeremy for nearly an hour, thanks to his date. I recognized her; she was Pearl's daughter. I pitied her for falling for Jeremy since he was about to die, but there was nothing I could do.

As soon as he was alone I pulled him aside, trying my best to be Elena.

"What's wrong?" he asked. "You seem worried."

"Um… I…" I stammered. "I gave you some sort of bracelet with vervain, didn't I?"

"Yeah." He said, holding up his wrist. "I'm still wearing it. Why?"

"Vervain has this expiration date, sort of." I hedged nervously. "I just need to replace it."

"Fine."

I took the bracelet gingerly, dropping it to the floor. "That's better." I hissed. "I need you to do something for me." His eyes glazed over, proof that Elena hadn't been putting vervain in his food or drinks. "I need you to go pick a fight with Tyler. Just go at him and keep beating him until he kills you."

"I'm going to pick a fight with Tyler. I won't stop until he kills me." Jeremy repeated dully.

"Perfect." I cooed. "Now go away."

All I had to do was wait.

Elena's POV

The charity event was mind-numbingly dull. Jeremy spent all his time talking to Anna, though at one point he had disappeared somewhere. I was on the porch watching as he and Anna laughed and talked about some joke that I couldn't hear. Next to me, Damon was watching for any sign of Stefan.

"He won't come." I told him for the hundredth time. "He's staying with Lexi, who, by the way, is fine."

"She isn't," he insisted. He had been at this for an hour. "I know she seems fine now, but she won't be. Someone I knew got bitten and after a while they got 'better' but it went south quickly enough."

"I don't believe that." I said. "You're just a pessimist."

He wouldn't look at me. "If I were you I'd lay off the insults, considering what happened last time."

"Fine." I huffed. "I'll be quiet and let you brood in silence."

I turned back to where Jeremy was only to see him staring at someone like he wanted to make them spontaneously combust. Another close look showed that it was Tyler. "Not again."

"What?" Damon asked, grudging but worried.

"Annoying teenage rivalries." I said, motioning to Jeremy and Tyler. Tyler had just disappeared into another room and Jeremy was hot on his trail. "I should go stop him."

It was harder to find them than I thought, and I was about to give up when I heard shouting and banging from upstairs. "Jeremy? Jeremy?"

I charged up the all too familiar spiral staircase that I had gone down in the Miss Mystic Falls competition and raced down the hallway. I was ducking into random rooms, knocking things over. I heard a slamming noise, like someone's head colliding with the floor. "Jeremy!"

Out of nowhere Mason came flying around a corner. I screamed and flattened against the wall. _I'm going to die, I'm going to die, he's going to kill me!_ He ignored me completely and headed up yet another flight of stairs. Did he know what the noises were?

I followed reluctantly. Sure enough, the sounded got louder as I followed, and he stopped at a door. Still pretending I didn't exist, he slammed his shoulders into it and broke.

All the air rushed out of my lungs when I saw what was inside. Jeremy was covered in blood but doggedly fighting Tyler like his life depended on it. "Jeremy, stop it!" I yelled. Mason was circling them, trying to find a way to get them apart.

Deaf to all sounds, Jeremy struggled in Tyler's grip and managed to break away, punching Tyler in the face as he fell. Tyler was outraged—he'd always had an awful temper. I could barely breathe when I saw him grab some heavy statue from a nearby by desk and raise it above his head—

It cracked soundly against Mason's head as he jumped in the way and tried to shove Tyler aside. Jeremy recoiled at the sound and blinked. The glazed look in his eyes vanished. "What?"

Mason was on the floor, bleeding, Tyler was begging him to get up, Jeremy wasn't moving either. There was so much blood, from Jeremy and Mason. I did the only thing I could: I opened my mouth and screamed for Damon.

I knew he would come.

**A/N: 5,532 words! Yes!**


	11. What Doesn't Kill You

**A/N: So… not much to say. I was going to get this up earlier but I never did *sigh* I hate having a bazillion exams in one week.**

**Also… for those of you who watch Secret Circle, you'll know who all the other witches that show up in this chapter are. If you don't, you'll still be able to understand what's going on. I was running out of ideas, so I figured I might as well do a mini-crossover in just one chapter. Sound like fun? I thought so.**

**I also may have stolen some VD lines from the show. Oh well.**

_Last chapter…_

_I turned back to where Jeremy was only to see him staring at someone like he wanted to make them spontaneously combust. Another close look showed that it was Tyler. "Not again."_

_"What?" Damon asked, grudging but worried._

_"Annoying teenage rivalries." I said, motioning to Jeremy and Tyler. Tyler had just disappeared into another room and Jeremy was hot on his trail. "I should go stop him."_

_It was harder to find them than I thought, and I was about to give up when I heard shouting and banging from upstairs. "Jeremy? Jeremy?"_

_I charged up the all too familiar spiral staircase that I had gone down in the Miss Mystic Falls competition and raced down the hallway. I was ducking into random rooms, knocking things over. I heard a slamming noise, like someone's head colliding with the floor. "Jeremy!"_

_Out of nowhere Mason came flying around a corner. I screamed and flattened against the wall.__I'm going to die, I'm going to die, he's going to kill me!__He ignored me completely and headed up yet another flight of stairs. Did he know what the noises were?_

_I followed reluctantly. Sure enough, the sounded got louder as I followed, and he stopped at a door. Still pretending I didn't exist, he slammed his shoulders into it and broke._

_All the air rushed out of my lungs when I saw what was inside. Jeremy was covered in blood but doggedly fighting Tyler like his life depended on it. "Jeremy, stop it!" I yelled. Mason was circling them, trying to find a way to get them apart._

_Deaf to all sounds, Jeremy struggled in Tyler's grip and managed to break away, punching Tyler in the face as he fell. Tyler was outraged—he'd always had an awful temper. I could barely breathe when I saw him grab some heavy statue from a nearby by desk and raise it above his head—_

_It cracked soundly against Mason's head as he jumped in the way and tried to shove Tyler aside. Jeremy recoiled at the sound and blinked. The glazed look in his eyes vanished. "What?"_

_Mason was on the floor, bleeding, Tyler was begging him to get up, Jeremy wasn't moving either. There was so much blood, from Jeremy and Mason. I did the only thing I could: I opened my mouth and screamed for Damon._

_I knew he would come._

Elena's POV

I could barely see anything, not even when Damon ran in. He dropped next to Mason and checked his pulse. "What happened?" he demanded. Tyler was frozen, guilt written all over his face as he began to back away. "What happened?" Damon snapped, looking at me.

"I… they were fighting, Tyler and Jeremy… JEREMY!" I cried, realizing just what was happening. I ran to my baby brother and crouched next to him. His eyes were half open. I could see a deep gash on his head, but his clothes were too torn and matted for me to see how badly he was hurt. "Jeremy…"

"Mason's dead." Damon announced.

I nodded my head, trying to respond to him. I cradled Jeremy's head. I couldn't bring myself to check his pulse because I feared what it would tell me.

"Elena?" he asked, coming closer and putting two fingers to Jeremy's wrist. I sucked in a breath as he said, "He's alive, but only by a little."

"Call 911!" I said, glancing to Tyler. "You heard me, do it!"

Damon growled angrily when Tyler still didn't move, swiftly pulling my forgotten phone from my pocket and dialing the numbers. "Can't you give him blood or something?" I asked frantically. "Please, Damon, do something to help him!"

He shook his head. "Someone—probably Katherine—wanted him dead, and I won't risk him having blood in his system and then being killed."

"He'll die." I managed through my tears.

"No he won't." he said. He lifted his head, hearing someone's voice on the phone. "Yes, there was some sort of fight and one person was killed. No, he was trying to stop the fight, it was an accident. Yes, there's also someone who's badly injured. He's breathing… yes, he's breathing but he's unconscious and I don't think he can last much longer. Yes, Okay."

I let the world fade away as I watched Jeremy's face for any sign of movement. "Please, please, please… you can't die. It's not fair." I felt like if I wanted it badly enough then Jeremy would be okay. There had to be some rule, some law in nature that said if you had already lost most of your family you couldn't lose the rest of them, right? There had to be. I wouldn't be able to live without Jeremy.

Before I knew it there were paramedics who walked in and had Jeremy on a stretcher in mere seconds. I wanted to go with him but they said I was on the verge of a hysterical breakdown and that someone should take me home. I wasn't even sure if it was said to me… it seemed like the paramedic saying it was talking to Damon and not to me.

My mind got less fuzzy as Damon was leading me out of the Lockwood's house. "Where are we going?" I demanded. I felt dizzy and breathless.

He said, "We're going home. You almost had a panic attack, so the paramedics wouldn't let you go with Jeremy." He said this as he kept steering me towards the door, down the driveway, and to his car.

"What? Oh, that." I could faintly remember it. "I feel so strange."

"You're in shock." He explained. "Your mind wants you to think what happened didn't happen, or isn't real."

"Yeah, whatever, I don't care about that." I said. I could still see every gruesome detail of the blood in the room and Jeremy's body sprawled out on the ground. "I want to go to the hospital. Now."

"You can't, the paramedic said that—"

"NO." I said loudly and firmly. I made sure Damon was looking straight at me. "Take me to the hospital now or I will open the door and jump out of the car."

"No, Elena." He warned, his tone completely serious.

I reached for the handle. "I. Am. Fine. Now take me to go see Jeremy."

He sighed but relented, turning the wheel and heading in the opposite direction. I found I could breathe easier once I knew we were going to the hospital.

"Why was he doing that?" I asked. "Why would Jeremy keep beating Tyler like that? It was like he wanted Tyler to snap…"

"No, but I'm sure Katherine did." Said Damon grimly. "It's so obvious. She wants another werewolf, and since Mason didn't manage to kill anyone with his little escapade she has to get rid of him."

"Why would she even want a werewolf?" I asked. I was so confused. I understood that Katherine was evil and that she wanted to hurt me, but why would she risk creating a new wolf? It could get her just as easily as Stefan or Lexi.

He sighed. "It's a long, complicated story, but it involves a sacrifice. She needs a werewolf, and witch, and—"

"A vampire?" I gasped. "Caroline?"

"I didn't want you to find out about it like this."

I groaned and hit the window with my hand, wishing it was Katherine's face. "WHY? Why does she want to do this to me?"

"It's not really about you or her hate for you." He said, gripping my other hand in his when I raised it threateningly in his direction. "There are people out there that she's afraid of and that she's trying to appease. A sacrifice will do that."

I wanted to ask him what this sacrifice would do, but we were pulling up to the hospital. I jumped out of the car. "You coming?"

He shook his head and slid down in his seat. "That car over there is Stefan's."

"Oh. Right." I didn't know why I felt a sinking feeling in my gut. I was just used to dragging Damon everywhere with me after that last few days. "If he's here I guess that means that Lexi is fine. Ha. I'm still right."

"No, you're not." He started the car and slowly drove past me. "I'll call you later, okay?"

"Okay."

I went into the hospital and spent the next half hour running around and asking if anyone knew where Jeremy was. All I could find was that he was still alive and in the intense care unit, but that was all. No one would let me go see him.

I found Stefan on the fourth floor, waiting near the ICU's doors. As soon as I saw him I ran to him and buried my face in his shoulders.

"Elena." He murmured. I nodded fervently as he hugged me closer. "I was so worried that you had gotten hurt."

"I'm fine, I'm fine." I mumbled. I never wanted to let go. How could I have ever forgotten how safe Stefan made me feel? "Jeremy isn't, though."

He pulled away enough to look at me. "I heard. I thought you would be here, but there wasn't anyone here. Jenna came about fifteen minutes ago but said you had a panic attack and someone took you home. I was going to ask her more but a doctor took her somewhere."

"I changed my mind." I told him. "I didn't want to go home."

"Who took you?"

I stammered, "Oh, no one, j-just some person at the party I can't remember who, maybe it was Caroline?"

"It doesn't matter." He said. I breathed a sigh of relief. "We'll probably get news on Jeremy soon."

"Hey, I was wondering how Lexi was doing." I said.

Stefan shrugged. "She seemed fine when I left. She says she feels weak still but otherwise she's fine."

_Ha._ I thought. So Damon had been wrong. "That's good."

"We just need to figure out why Mason was attacking. Speaking of that, how did you know he was a werewolf?"

I gulped. "I can't tell you."

"Why not?" he wasn't angry with me, just patiently waiting for the answer I couldn't give him.

"I can't." I repeated. "I know it's a vague answer, but I can't. Maybe someday, after this is all over, I'll be able to."

"Okay." He kissed my head. "As long as you tell me everything you know so I can help you."

I nodded again. "I heard that Katherine working on some sort of sacrifice. She needs a werewolf, a vampire, ad a witch. You can guess who they are, can't you?"

"Caroline, Tyler, Bonnie." He said. "Do you know what the sacrifice does or why she's doing it?"

"Sort of." I said. Now I really wished I had had asked Damon more. "I think that it's for someone else, to appease whoever she's running from."

"That's probably true." Said Stefan.

I glanced at the menacing white double doors of the ICU. "What's taking them so long?"

"I don't know, but Jenna should be out soon." He said.

As if on cue she came through the doors, spotting me at once. "Elena!"

"Jenna, is he okay?" I asked. She walked to me and hugged me. "Jenna?"

"He's fine, Elena. There was a lot of blood loss, but he doesn't even have a concussion." She said. I gripped her tightly and started to cry. _Jeremy's going to be okay. _

Damon's POV

I regretted not being able to stay with Elena. We had been together the last few days, so much that it felt like old times again, except she didn't hate me for the awful things I'd never done in this reality. I wondered why I couldn't have acted like this last time. It was a foreign concept, having a friend. Even over the years and years and _years_ I'd been a vampire I'd never really had a friend. There were just people I knew, and people I killed. Maybe a friend would have helped me the way Lexi helped Stefan.

I went back to my place and paced restlessly for hours. Elena only sent me one text: _Jeremy's okay. ~Elena_ After that there was a radio silence from her or anyone else.

I spent the time alone trying to figure out what would happen next. As far as I could tell there would be a masquerade ball coming up soon—it had been Mayor Lockwood's idea, and though he was alive I was certain it would still happen. Would Katherine be there like she had at the other one?

Katherine had been oddly missing from all the action as of late. It wasn't like her to miss out on what had supposed to be Jeremy's death. All I knew was that she must have gotten to him before the party, somehow convincing him that she was Elena and getting rid of his vervain.

There was a soft tap at the door. I was up and warily approaching it in a second. When I opened it I saw a note on the front steps.

_My sweet, innocent Damon:_

_Meet me at the Masquerade ball. We need to talk. ALL of us._

_Katherine_

What did she mean by "all of us"?

Narrator's POV

About thirty miles outside Mystic Falls a black SUV was racing down a dusty and abandoned road. Inside the driver was on the phone, barely paying attention to where he was steering. After all, with supernatural reflexes and sight, why would he need to?

"Do you have the wolf and the vampire?" he asked the person on the phone.

"Katherine says she has a werewolf. His name is Tyler Lockwood."

"Ahh, the Lockwoods." He said, nodding approvingly. "Of course. And the vampire?"

"Yes, she has that too, though if this one dies or leaves you still have an array of other vampires that we can use. Katherine herself would be fine."

He sighed. "Now, Isobel, don't be like that."

"I didn't mean it that way."

"Of course not. I'm sure Katherine's other vampire will be there when I arrive. Where will we be meeting?" in the back of the van something stirred, and he glanced back casually.

"The masquerade ball." Said Isobel. "It's at the Lockwoods. Katherine said she could get Damon, Stefan, and Elena all to come, and she even compelled the grief-stricken Lockwoods to have the party despite the fact that Mason's dead. It's in his honor now, or something equally cheesy."

"Good. I'll see you there."

There was a whimpering noise from the backseat and he looked back again. Despite the dark he could see the outline of a golden head, the damp, sweaty locks of hair plastered to the young girl's face. She was struggling against her bonds. Next to her a brunette was motionless. "Stop that." He reprimanded the girl. "If you keep trying to get free I'll have to make the ropes tighter." The girl let tears spill freely down her face, moaning. He could smell blood all over her, and he knew the ropes were cutting painfully into her wrists already. "Good girl."

She glared at him and wriggled up to the other girl, cuddling into her body for warmth and comfort. She pressed her cheek gently to the other girl's and hummed softly, as though she was trying to wake the brown-haired girl.

"Isobel?"

"Yes?"

"Tell Katherine that I have Klaus's witch, and a backup one as well."

Elena's POV

Once Jeremy was released from the hospital, only a few hours after he went in, Jenna, Stefan, and I took him home.

"I don't understand." He kept telling Stefan and I. "I was there, and then Elena—no, it was probably Katherine—came to me and asked me about my bracelet. Then I was outside, I saw Tyler, and I knew I had to beat him until he killed me. I didn't know why."

I rubbed the back of his hand. "It's okay."

"Did anything happen to Tyler?" he asked. "I knew I was losing and everything was blurry. When he stopped hitting me I passed out."

I glanced at Stefan, who nodded. "Mason tried to stop Tyler. He was about to hit you in the head with some sort of statue, and… he killed Mason by accident."

Jeremy looked stricken. "That's my fault. It's _my _fault that Tyler hit Mason instead of me."

"No, Jeremy, It's not your fault." Stefan said. He knelt in front of the couch, looking Jeremy in the eye. "Do you hear me?" Jeremy nodded. "You were compelled. You couldn't have stopped yourself if you wanted to."

"I know." Said Jeremy softly. "I still feel like it was my fault."

My phone buzzed. I slid it out of my pocket and angled it away from Stefan in case it was a text from Damon.

_Just got a note from Katherine. It says "Meet me at the masquerade ball. We need to talk. ALL of us." Who is "all of us"? ~Damon_

I quickly deleted the text. "Jenna?"

"Yes?" she ducked in.

"Is there a masquerade ball tonight? At the Lockwoods?"

"Yes, there is."

"Right after the charity event today?"

She smiled. "Well, the Lockwoods do love their parties, and now they're holding it in honor of Mason."

Who could throw a ball so soon after a family member died? "I guess."

"Do you want to go?" Stefan asked. "I suppose we should go pay our respects." He looked as doubtful as I felt.

"I don't know." I said. "Something about this screams 'compulsion' to me, but I don't know why Katherine would care about the masquerade ball still happening."

"Is there something she wants from you?" Jenna asked. "I don't know much about her, just what you told me, but she probably wants something."

I opened my mouth to say more when the doorbell rang. "Stefan, could you—?"

"Of course." He went to the front door, but when he opened it I didn't hear anyone. He came back holding a piece of paper.

"Stefan?"

"Look at this."

I took the paper and turned it over to the side with writing on it.

_Dearest Stefan,_

_I think we need to talk. Odd, isn't it, that all three of us are back in Mystic Falls and still haven't gotten together to catch up?_

_Katherine_

Panic knotted my stomach. "All three of us"? She wanted Damon to come to the ball as well as Stefan? Didn't she know Damon was avoiding Stefan for a reason?

"What does that mean?" I demanded, pointing at the offending phrase. Maybe Katherine meant Lexi.

"I… it doesn't mean anything, I don't know what she's talking about." Stefan said. If it was possible, he was paler than the usual, white, undead skin tone. "We shouldn't go."

"But what if she can tell us what's going on?" I said. "We're still in the dark about so many things, Stefan, and we need to know what's going on."

He shook his head, crumpling the paper in his fist. "She's dangerous."

"Please, Stefan." I begged. "We need to know." It was time that he realized Damon was in town. Maybe I could make him see that Damon didn't mean any harm. Damon had said that his relationship with Stefan had been bad, but Stefan trusted me. I would make him see.

"I guess we can go." He said at last. "But if she starts to act like she's going to murder us all, we're leaving."

I laughed. "Sounds like a plan."

Eventually Stefan left, and when he did I texted Damon.

_Stefan is going to the ball too. Katherine wants to see both of you. ~Elena_

_I'm not going. ~Damon_

_You HAVE to, Damon! I know you don't want Stefan to see you but I promise I'll make sure he knows you're good now. ~Elena_

_Elena… ~Damon_

_Please, Damon? ~Elena_

There was no response.

_Damon? ~Elena_

_Okay. ~Damon_

Now all I had to do was find a pretty dress and a mask.

**~~~OoO~~~OoO~~~OoO~~~**

Hours later I was freshly showered, dressed, and waiting by the door for Damon. I had decided to have him drive me so I would be able to make sure he actually came. Also, I would be able to drag him straight to Stefan and explain everything so they wouldn't rip each other to shreds.

My dress was a silky, shimmery white that was nearly translucent and held all the colors of the rainbow as it moved. It was a very small, simple dress, cinched at the waist with a bow. My mask was also white, the edge framed with the same bits of wispy material as my dress. It looked very faintly like a bird, or maybe a white tiger. I couldn't really tell. Jenna had found it for me, saying she had worn it to one of the balls a long time ago.

Damon opened the door without bothering to knock, whistling when he saw me. "You look gorgeous." He said.

"Don't try to distract me." I teased, shoving him back out. "Car. Now."

"Whyyyyyyy?" he whined. "I don't want to!"

"Car!" I repeated, shoving him into the driver's seat. "And if you drive anywhere besides the Lockwood's house I'll do something violent."

"You will?"

"I will." I said. "Drive."

He did, and soon we arrived that the Lockwood's house. It was festively decked for the occasion. "I can't believe they didn't cancel." I said.

"I'm sure Katherine had something to do with that." Damon replied. "She wanted somewhere safe to meet with us."

"I'll bet." The place was teeming with people; there was no way Stefan or Damon would try anything.

As we approached the front door I saw a flash of raven-black hair and felt a tug in my chest, like I knew the person. "Damon?"

"Yeah?" he was nervous. I could hear it in his voice.

I pointed to the woman's back. "Do you know her?"

He shrugged. "I don't think so."

"I think I do." I said. "Nevermind. We can go ask her who she is later, because right now we have to find Stefan."

Stefan was faithfully waiting by the door, but when he saw who was walking in with me I saw his face begin to contort with rage. I had never seen him that angry.

"What the hell is this?" he asked, storming past me and grabbing Damon by the front of his shirt. "Do you have her compelled or something? Thought it would be funny to mess with her head just to get back at me?"

I realized what he was saying. Stefan had thought that because I already knew about Damon, Damon had somehow gotten to me, stolen my necklace, and compelled me not to tell but to like him.

"Stefan, no!" I said, trying to force them apart. "He didn't do anything, Stefan, I had him bring me here because you to had to meet again eventually."

"You knew he was here?" asked Stefan, incredulous.

I lowered my eyes. "Yes, I did. When I crashed my car he came and saved me. After that… well, he stopped Caroline from hurting me, and he was helping me figure out what Katherine's been doing, and he even rescued me when Mason bit me." My cheeks went scarlet when I remembered the kiss Damon and I had shared. "That's it, I swear! I would have told you but Damon was terrified you would hate him, so I didn't. He just wants to help."

"I do." Damon agreed. "Please, Stefan."

Stefan was still breathing heavily and staring at Damon, but I think he could see the honesty I always saw in Damon. "Fine, but if you try anything I will end you."

"Fair's fair." Said Damon. "Should we go find Katherine?"

"Yes."

I threw Damon an apologetic look as I took Stefan's arm. The meeting had gone a lot better than I thought it would but I felt bad that Stefan had jumped on Damon like that.

Suddenly Bonnie crashed into us, her golden bird masked crooked. "Bonnie?" I said.

She glanced up, seeing it was us. "Oh, thank goodness. I was trying to find you."

"Why, what's wrong? Is it Katherine?"

Bonnie shook her head. "I keep getting this weird witch vibe. I think there's two witches here, and they're both scared."

"What?" I said. Damon looked at me blankly. It was one of the first things he hadn't already known about.

Bonnie said, "I think they're nearby and we need to go help them. They might be part of some plan Katherine has."

Suddenly she stiffened. I grabbed her arm and got an overwhelming sense of protection and power. "Bonnie, what is going on with you—"

Just as suddenly as it came the feeling was gone and I let go just in time to see Damon and Stefan both go flying across the room and into the walls as though shoved by an invisible hand.

Cassie's POV

"Diana?" I asked for the hundredth time. "D-Diana?"

I was still stuck in the hot, dark van that smelt of copper, old Chinese take-out, and blood. Whoever had kidnapped us had locked the car, warning me that if I tried to leave he would kill Diana. Besides, the car was filled with ashes and salt. There was no way my powers would work now, not without some serious help.

"Diana, please wake up." I begged. "Please. There's this guy, and he's going to hurt us, and I'm really, really scared."

It had been worse when I still had tape over my mouth. Once he'd left I managed to get it off by rubbing my face against the door's handle until an edge of the tape caught and it peeled off my face.

I didn't even know where we were. One minute I'd been laughing with Diana over some ridiculous article in a magazine about "witchcraft"—the fake kind—when something heavy had hit me and I blacked out. When I'd woken up some man had been on the phone talking about a masquerade ball, werewolves, vampires, and witches. I'd never known that werewolves or vampires were real, but I was sure it wasn't a good thing.

"… mmmmmmph?" Diana moaned. Her eyes fluttered open. There was still tape over her mouth.

"Diana!" I struggled to get closer, pressing my body against hers. "It's okay. We're in a van, someone kidnapped us but he's gone now."

She twisted in her bonds, but tears sprang to her eyes and I saw blood pooling from behind her back. "Hmm… mmmph!"

"Stay still." I ordered. "The ropes are too tight. I've cut myself on them too." I glanced around. "Try moving your face to the door, so you can get the tape off."

It took a long time to help her. She was weaker than me, probably because she had been unconscious longer, and I had to help hold her up while she pried the tape off.

"I couldn't breathe." She choked out once it was off. "It felt like I couldn't breathe."

"I know." She was shivering. "Did you see who captured us?"

"No." she said. "What do we do?"

I laid still, listening for any sound outside. "I don't know. It sounds like we're near a party. There's also this feeling like there's another witch here besides us."

"Did you feel how cold he was?" asked Diana suddenly.

"What?"

She gulped. "When he hit me, I got this cold feeling, like he was death."

I shook my head. "I just passed out. Anyway, can you feel the other witch's energy?"

Dian pinched her eyes shut and tried to reach out. I could almost feel her magic brushing mine. It was an uncanny but acquired talent. "No. It's because of the salt and ash."

"I'll try." I had never been restrained by salt and ash before.

I closed my eyes and focused on the energy; it was warm, gentle and soft. I pushed my weakened energy past the slat and ash barrier with great difficulty and pressed forward, trying to find my way through a mass of bodies blindly. Despite my concentration I felt Diana turn until she could squeeze my hand encouragingly, and I used the contact to help me reach out faster.

I was almost there. The energy was so close, but it was near two masses of ice, cold as death. "There are more people like him here, and they're near the witch."

"Help her." Diana prompted.

_You're safe._ I thought, making sure she knew I was there. I then shoved the two cold beings as hard as I could, using all the magic I had left inside me. The last thing I could remember was something snapping in my mind, followed by a flood of unimaginable pain.

Elena's POV

I gaped at the two brothers as they dizzily pulled themselves up and staggered back over like that sort of thing happened everyday. Damon was brushing off his suit and trying to act as nonchalantly as possible, while Stefan just nodded and smiled at all the people saying, "Are you okay?"

"What was _that_?" I asked Bonnie. "I felt something. It was like this protected feeling, or a spell…"

Bonnie was still dazed. "I don't know. I heard someone whisper 'You're safe' like they were next to me, and I got this overwhelming sense of comfort. Then they—" she gestured at Damon and Stefan "—just went flying. I didn't do it. I think it was those two witches I felt earlier."

"Why the hell would they want to break a wall with our faces?" Damon demanded.

Stefan shrugged. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe they've met you before."

"I try to avoid most witches." Damon said. "No offense, Bonnie, but your kind tend to hate my kind. Besides, I'm not always likeable."

"Yes you are." I interjected, not sure why I would say something like that, especially in front of Stefan. "You're not mean as far as I can tell."

"You haven't known him as long as I have." Stefan said. There was a hint of jealously in his tone. "Besides, that's not the point."

"They probably did it because I'm a witch and you're vampires." Said Bonnie suddenly. "They must have been trying to find my energy and when they found yours too they assumed the worst."

"That we were hurting you or manipulating you." Damon said. "Of course."

I said, "So where are they?"

"I could try to find them by reaching out with my energy." Bonnie suggested, though a wariness laid beneath her cheery demeanor. "I've read about it before and I think I can do it."

I nodded encouragingly and motioned for her to try it. She led us to a room that was empty, sat on a couch, and then was still.

Damon coughed, breaking the silence. "Um…"

"Don't be rude." I scolded. He seemed different around Stefan. It was strange, how he was insecure. The way he held himself, like Stefan would attack or threaten him, said a lot about there relationship that I hadn't known.

"I feel something." Said Bonnie. "They're scared and hurt… I think they're somewhere enclosed, but near us. Maybe in a car outside?"

I glanced at Stefan and Damon. "Care to join us?"

The other party-goers ignored us and we shoved past them. I could see Bonnie was fighting down a sense of urgency to get to the girls. They must have been terrified.

I pressed my face against car window after car window, ducked behind bushes, and searched every inch of the front and backyard of the Lockwood's property. Stefan And Damon did a sweep of the woods but uncovered nothing.

"Where could they be?" I asked. "Are they making themselves invisible somehow?"

"Did you check outside the front gate?" asked Damon.

"Oh." I said. I lifted the edges of my shimmering dress and started towards the gate at a run. Footsteps behind me meant that Bonnie, Damon and Stefan were right behind me.

I stumbled over a branch in the road once I made it past the gate but kept going. I could see a black shape in the distance, one that looked like a car. I knew that the two witches were in it.

"Elena! Slow down!"

I ignored Damon's calls and ran even faster. A blur sped past me, slamming into me with alarming speed.

"Damon!" I shrieked irritably. "What are you _doing_?"

"There could be someone guarding the two witches, Elena, someone dangerous." He warned, holding me back. "You're not going in first."

"Damonnnnn…" I whined.

Bonnie stopped beside, panting. "He's right, you know." She gasped.

We decided on approaching the van as a group, Stefan and Damon shoving me behind them every other second like the sometimes annoying white knights they were.

After looking inside the driver's seat Damon opened the door slowly, letting moonlight spill inside. At first I could only see undistinguishable lumps accompanied by whimpers of fear, but as the door slid all the way back and my eyes adjusted I could see two girls. One was blond, the other brunette, both of them sweaty, dirty, and tear-stained. There was blood flecking the seats and their wrists. When Damon leaned in closer to see if they were both conscious the blond girl defiantly threw herself in front of the brown-haired girl and glared at him. Bits of what looked like ashes and salt slid from her clothes. It was everywhere inside the van.

"I'm warning you, stay a-away." The blond girl stammered. She looked so hopelessly afraid.

Bonnie gently pushed Damon out of the way, making sure both witches could see her. "Hey, we're not going to hurt you. "I'm Bonnie. We kind of met…"

"You were the witch?" asked the brown-haired girl faintly. "Cassie said that she saved you from something, and then she started screaming."

Cassie shrugged. "The spell was hard with all the salt and ash around. Please, can you untie us and take us somewhere safe?"

"Of course!" Bonnie and I crawled inside the filthy van and tried out best not hurt and Cassie and Diana—who introduced herself—but the ropes had done a lot of damage. Both girl had their skin rubbed raw.

We were about to take them to the boardinghouse and figure out just what Katherine might have planned when a shadowy figure appeared next to the van. When Cassie saw him she shrieked, and Diana wrapped her arms around Cassie, a deep and primal fear shining from her eyes.

"Leaving already?" he asked. He was British, but it was too dark for me to discern any specific feature. However, Damon knew him; I heard him suck in a breath when the man stepped out of the shadows. "But I thought I told you what would happen if you left, Cassie."

Cassie moaned in the back of her throat, hiding her face in Diana's coat. "Please…" I heard her mumble.

"As for the three of you, I've been meaning to talk to you." he added, looking at Damon, Stefan, and I. "Katherine was planning on doing the talking, but apparently she's been busy watching over her new wolf. I hear he's very suicidal."

"I knew she wouldn't show." Grumbled Stefan.

"Ah, Stefan." Said the man. "The kind, patient, protecting brother. You and Elena are very close, aren't you?"

"I don't see why that's any of your business."

"It is. You see, we—meaning my brother and I—need your precious doppelganger girlfriend as sacrifice."

"Elijah." Damon hissed. "I think you need to leave now."

"Damon." Elijah regarded him coolly. "The brother who knows too much. What should I do with you?"

**A/N: I really love cliffhangers. I really, really do.**


	12. Dark Magic

**A/N: I used to have more to say in these AN's…. huh. **

**I can't believe I've made it to 12 chapters. I honestly thought I would end up dropping this halfway through, but apparently not. Yay!**

**Also, I know that Elijah is very Klaus-like in this chapter, but it's because in my version of VD he's already been promised his family, and to him all the people of Mystic Falls are just in his way, he doesn't know them, and personally doesn't care about them. He'll get nicer, no worries.**

**As for the TSC witches… should they just hang out in Mystic Falls for a while? I think it's really interesting to write them into the story. So should they stay? You could leave your opinion in the form of a review :) (PLEASE?)**

**As for TSC couples in this… it'll be some Cassie/Jake, some Cassie/Damon (but only briefly), and Diana/Faye (I absolutely love Fayana, and how it's trending on twitter and is going to be a real couple on the show!). Also some Jake/Melissa, maybe… you'll see…**

_Last week…_

_We were about to take them to the boardinghouse and figure out just what Katherine might have planned when a shadowy figure appeared next to the van. When Cassie saw him she shrieked, and Diana wrapped her arms around Cassie, a deep and primal fear shining from her eyes._

_"Leaving already?" he asked. He was British, but it was too dark for me to discern any specific feature. However, Damon knew him; I heard him suck in a breath when the man stepped out of the shadows. "But I thought I told you what would happen if you left, Cassie."_

_Cassie moaned in the back of her throat, hiding her face in Diana's coat. "Please…" I heard her mumble._

_"As for the three of you, I've been meaning to talk to you." he added, looking at Damon, Stefan, and I. "Katherine was planning on doing the talking, but apparently she's been busy watching over her new wolf. I hear he's very suicidal."_

_"I knew she wouldn't show." Grumbled Stefan._

_"Ah, Stefan." Said the man. "The kind, patient, protecting brother. You and Elena are very close, aren't you?"_

_"I don't see why that's any of your business."_

_"It is. You see, we—meaning my brother and I—need your precious doppelganger girlfriend as sacrifice."_

_"Elijah." Damon hissed. "I think you need to leave now."_

_"Damon." Elijah regarded him coolly. "The brother who knows too much. What should I do with you?"_

Elena's POV

"What do you mean, 'the brother who knows too much'?" I asked. My voice trembled but I refused to take my eyes off Elijah.

"He knows me." Elijah explained. "It's highly unlikely. Besides, I've heard that he's been here in town, protecting you. Supposedly he knows about some things that he really shouldn't have."

"The sacrifice." I breathed. He nodded.

I felt the white-hot fear draining the blood from my face. I backed up, bumping into Damon. Despite the consequences I knew it would bring I reached back and found his hand, weaving my fingers into his for reassurance. Stefan had been too shocked by the "I need you girlfriend for a sacrifice" thing to come over where I was.

Cassie managed a quick look at Elijah from Diana's jacket, but she was still shivering. "Please…" she begged, louder than the last time. I wondered what she was asking him not to do.

He smiled. "Please what?"

Cassie clung to Diana. "Don't hurt her."

"I won't." Elijah said. "After all, everyone I need to talk to is here, and I really can't afford to lose one of my witches."

I thought vaguely that the two girls seemed like sisters. They probably were, since witchcraft ran in certain families, and there were never more than one or two witches in a single town.

"So, Damon," Elijah began, "How exactly do you know me?"

Damon growled slightly, and I squeezed his hand. "I hear things. I've been around for a while." He paused. "I am curious about one thing."

"Oh?"

"Why are you helping the man that put a stake through Rebekah's heart?" he asked. "I mean, you _do _ know about that, right?"

Elijah snarled fiercely and in a blur he had Damon pinned up against the van. I cried out in pain when his hand was ripped callously away from mine.

"How do you know about Bekah?" Elijah pressed Damon into the car, crushing his windpipe. "She's dead?"

"Not…. Dead…" he choked. "Just sleeping."

Elijah dropped him. "Sleeping?"

"You can't be killed, you're Originals, remember?" Damon said, like Elijah was a two-year-old. "Klaus did the same to your whole family, and he lugs them around in coffins. Why not just get them back and take your happy family somewhere else? That is, after you dispose of Klaus."

Elijah turned to me. "See? He knows too much."

"No…" I mumbled. I couldn't look at Elijah, the way his eyes were glowing with bright sparks of anger. Damon had struck a deep nerve when he mentioned Rebekah. "It's not like he can hurt you."

"Hey!" protested Damon. I shook my head. _This isn't a time for jokes. This is for real._

"Please, Elijah." I said. "You just wanted to talk to us, so talk. Just don't hurt anyone." I glanced to the two trembling witches. "And you have to let them go. They don't belong mixed up in all this."

Elijah shook his head. "No. Klaus said that if I helped he would show me where our family was."

"Your conveniently staked and sleeping family." Damon added.

"Shut up." I hissed. To Elijah I said, "_Please_." It was killing me how scared Cassie looked, how she was clinging to Diana like she could shield her from Elijah. Clearly not understanding what vampires could really do made her fear even worse.

"No." said Elijah again. "Look, I don't have time for this. Katherine and Isobel are both here, and they are going to make sure you don't decide to flee town. You would be wise not to, because if anyone disappears from town then their friends will suffer the consequences."

Stefan, who had been making his way closer to me, groaned softly. He knew I would never risk my friends being hurt, and that I would jump off a cliff to save them.

"Anything else?" I asked boldly.

"Yes." Elijah said. He moved faster than any vampire I had seen before, knocking Cassie away from Diana and holding the struggling brunette by the neck. "I try to be an honorable man, but if anyone gets in between my family and I…" he let the words trail into silence, leaving only Diana's fearful whimpers and she struggled against Elijah's strong arms.

He smiled down at her. "I think maybe I can afford to have an injured witch."

He took one of her arms and twisted it behind her back, eliciting a pained shriek. "No!" I yelped, trying to run forward. I turned to see Damon restraining me. "Damon!" Diana cried out again. I could see Cassie staring in horror from the ground, her eyes streaming with tears.

"He's stronger than any of us." Damon said, practically pleading with me. "You can't."

I felt a strange tugging in my gut, and I turned from Damon to Cassie. It felt like she was doing a spell, but why could I feel it? Bonnie winced, like the same thing had happened to her.

Cassie slowly rose from the ground, her eyes burning like two black sparks of obsidian. I felt fear knot in my stomach.

"Let. Her. Go." Cassie commanded slowly. Her voice was gravelly and harsh.

Elijah laughed, wrapping his arm around Diana's neck again. "I don't think so."

I prayed for Cassie to back down and hope that Diana wouldn't get killed, but she didn't. She just started at him, stony and indifferent, like she could evaporate him on the spot.

Suddenly Elijah let Diana slid from his grip, gasping and clawing at his neck. "What… the…. hell?" he gasped. Cassie moved closer, standing over him and watching him choke. When I looked back I saw even Stefan and Damon were uneasy. If she was taking down Elijah—who Damon was afraid of—then she had to be a powerful witch.

"Leave." Cassie said. Diana, now free, crawled back ward with one arm held to her chest. She went around Cassie.

Elijah sucked in a lungful of air and glared at her reproachfully. "This isn't over."

"Not by a long shot." Agreed Cassie. "Now leave before I rip out your heart and feed it to you."

Damon looked impressed.

Elijah scanned the group, like he was seeing if he could kill someone before he left, but seemed to come to the conclusion that he was surrounded. With one more sulky glance he turned tail and ran.

Cassie was still standing in the exact same spot, like she was in a trance. Bonnie knelt next to Diana, putting a protective arm around the girl.

"Cassie?" Diana whispered.

The eerie look in Cassie's eyes disappeared. She appeared to snap out of a trance, her head turning to Diana. "Oh… I just…"

"Yeah." Diana agreed. Whatever I had just seen, Diana had clearly seen before. I didn't knew magic that strong existed.

Bonnie helped Diana up, Cassie joining her and gently supporting Diana's bad arm. "Where's the closest hospital?" Cassie asked.

"Not far." I said. "We're familiar with it, trust me."

We made a rag-tag, filthy little group as we snuck back through the thinning crowd of party-goers on the front lawn and found Damon's car. Only a few people stared; after all, they _did _live in Mystic Falls. Besides, I reasoned, we didn't look that bad. Damon had few tears in his suit, as did Stefan, and Bonnie and I had muddy shoes and ash-stained dresses. Cassie and Diana attracted the most attention, mostly because of their tattered clothes, bleeding wrists, and the ash and salt mixture that was all over their clothes and skin. No one stopped us or asked us what had happened.

I sat in the back of the car, hoping that since Damon and Stefan were both in the front and they couldn't fight with the risk of crashing that maybe they would make up, or at least try to amend for whatever had happened in their pasts.

Diana groaned, shifting uncomfortably as the car hit a bump. Her arm was bent awkwardly.

"Take it easy on the potholes." I commanded, issuing the order at Damon. "It's not like we're being chased."

"You don't know that."

Cassie smiled weakly. "I agree with Elena. I got a little out of hand with Elijah."

"A little?" Diana asked. She had a look in her eyes, like she'd had this discussion with Cassie before. "Cassie, you can't just use your—"

"I know." Cassie interrupted harshly. "Can we just talk about it later? You don't need to go all Adam on me right now, especially since you're hurt."

"Okay." Diana said, nodding.

I hated waiting in the stuffy hospital waiting room, but it had to be done. Diana was in and out faster than usual, and once she was allowed to leave we got in the car and headed to the boardinghouse.

"This is your _house_?" asked Cassie incredulously. "Well, it's very lair-like. Very vampire-y."

"Vampire-y?" Damon repeated, rolling his eyes.

"It's dark and spooky." Cassie explained.

"Spooky? Who even says that anymore?"

I intervened before they started going at each other's throats. "Okay, okay, calm down. Let's all just agree that it's a big house and move on."

Once we were inside I listened for any sounds, any intruders. "Where's Lexi?"

"Lexi?" said Stefan. "She should be sleeping. She was when I left."

I smirked at Damon. "And she's still fine. Ha. Ha. Ha."

"Sarcasm is not becoming on you."

"But I'm right, so ha!" I said, smiling when Damon poked me in the back and forced me onto one of the couches. Diana and Cassie hesitantly settled opposite us.

"That's how you knew about werewolves." Said Stefan suddenly, realization dawning on his face. He looked at Damon. "Where did you hear that werewolf bites are fatal to vampires?"

"Yes, where did you hear that?" Lexi asked. She had appeared in the doorway and had her hands on her hips. Her skin was paler than usual, and she looked like she might have a fever, but she didn't look like someone who was dying. "And who are these witches?"

"I was bitten once." Damon said. "And they're Cassie and Diana."

"You were bitten?" I gasped.

"You're not dead." Stefan pointed out. "If werewolf bites are fatal and you were bitten you'd be dead."

Damon sighed. "I was cured by the only thing that can stop a werewolf bite, and the cure doesn't exist anymore." He glanced at Lexi, who had come to rest at the edge of Stefan's seat. "I don't know how you're still alive, but you're not bursting with health, either. I'm not wrong. A vampire I knew was bitten and I had to watch her die."

There was a pause, in which Stefan coughed into his hand and Lexi looked away. I felt heat rising in my cheeks. Where they laughing at him, or did they honestly feel bad for doubting him? I reached out for his hand and found it, gently tracing my thumb along the edge of it as our fingers wove together for a second. Then Stefan and Lexi looked back at us and our hands quickly separated.

Diana seemed to notice the wordless exchange but only allowed her eyebrows to go up the slightest bit, saying nothing. "So…" she began. "Why are we here?"

Cassie said, "I was wondering the same thing. All of you seem nice, but we should be going home."

"It's a really long story." Damon warned. "Not that I won't tell you, I just thought I should mention that."

I let my mind wander as he explained how vampires and werewolves were real, what Elijah, Katherine and Isobel had to be up to, and why Elijah wanted them—for witches to do the sacrifice. Cassie and Diana shrunk further and further into the couch, unwilling to do anything.

"There is no way I'm going to stick around here and help some crazed vampire become even more dangerous." Cassie said when Damon finished. "I'm sorry, but I have enough problems to deal with."

"You can't leave." I blurted out suddenly, remembering something Elijah had said. "If you leave then Elijah will start killing people. He said he would, remember?"

"Oh." Cassie looked away. "I forgot."

"So will you stay, just for now?"

Diana chewed her lip, hesitantly casting her eyes anywhere but at mine. "My dad will wonder where I've gone, and the rest of the Circle will be frantic."

"Call them." Damon suggested. "Tell them you're okay but you can't have them coming after you."

"That would make it sound like we were being held against our will." Cassie said. "We can't just leave them up in Chance Harbor to fend of the witch hunters and Jake, my father, and who knows what else by themselves."

There was a tiny spark in her eyes, like what I'd seen when she was strangling Elijah, but this spark was insubordination. She looked like she wanted to hit Damon.

"You have to." Stefan said, finally saying something. "There's no way you can leave, because even if Klaus didn't come after you right away he would once the sacrifice was done, and then your whole Circle would be gone."

"What do you mean by gone?" Cassie asked.

"I know a lot about Klaus, and the one thing he does best is revenge. If you cross him than he'll make sure every person you ever loved is dead. Besides, I think you could be helpful." Damon said. His eyes glinted mischievously. "Would you care to explain what happened with Elijah?"

"That was intense." Bonnie agreed. "I could feel the blackness, the—"

"Darkness." Cassie mumbled. "I know."

"Well, what was it?"

She shifted uncomfortably. "I, uh… I'm part of the Balcoin line of witches." She watched our faces for some sign of recognition. "It's a line of witches with dark magic. There was a boatyard fire years ago that killed some of the parents of our Circle- Diana's Mom was one- and it had something to do with my father. I thought he died in the fire, but apparently not, because he's walking around Chance Harbor, alive as ever."

"So you have dark magic?" Bonnie asked. "Do all witches have the capacity for it?"

"No." Cassie shook her head. "You could do some very nasty spells, but I get mine through channeling anger. It's a lot more than magic that comes from drawing on nature. Besides, it's kind of a genetic thing."

"So you're a witch with anger issues? Oh, goody." Damon said sarcastically.

"Damon…" I warned.

Cassie tried to laugh, but she only managed a tense smile. "He is right, sort of."

Diana rubbed her arm in a soothing motion. "Nevermind about that."

They were so close, practically sisters. It reminded me of when Jeremy and I were little and it didn't matter that I was a girl and he was a boy. It was like before he developed the "I-can't-hang-out-with-my-sister-because-she's-a-_girl _" syndrome.

"No, they should know." She said. "Look, I tend to… snap. Once I got angry at this guy, Adam, for something, and I accidentally strangled him with my mind. One minute I was yelling at him and the next minute he was on the floor, choking."

"So," said Damon, "what you're saying is that you're a time bomb waiting to explode."

"I wouldn't put it like that."

He groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Can you help us, or do you need to be locked up in the cellar?"

"The cellar wouldn't really keep my magic in check, if that's what you mean." Cassie said, looking frightened despite her power. "I'll help, but I can't promise I won't hurt any of you."

That was enough for Damon. He nodded, got up, and started helping himself to drinks. "Perfect. Now do we call your pals in Salem and tell them that you won't be home for a few weeks or however long it takes to kill Elijah and Klaus."

"A few weeks?" asked Cassie dubiously, at the same moment that Stefan and Lexi asked, "Klaus?"

"Oh, Klaus." Damon said, ignoring Cassie. "He's Elijah's brother. Elijah said he was here with his brother."

"I forgot that suddenly you seem to know everything." Stefan grumbled, coming over to sit with me. Damon glanced to the now-taken seat regretfully, instead going to sit where Stefan had been sitting. I scolded the voice inside my head that kept telling me to go sit next to Damon, quietly leaning into Stefan and reveling in his closeness. It wasn't as safe as it was when I sat next to Damon, but it was enough.

Katherine's POV

I dragged myself to the wall, carefully putting my weight on my uninjured leg. The room I was in was dark and the walls were splattered with blood.

I could barely remember anything from the previous night. After checking in with Isobel I had gotten dressed, headed to the masquerade ball, and then something had just hit me like a truck. Whatever it had been, it had crushed both my legs, one so mangled that it still hadn't healed. I felt weak, like I hadn't eaten in a few days.

There was a creaking from the opposite side of the room and I flattened myself to the wall at vampire speed despite the pain. A door opened, revealing a strip of artificial light. Isobel strutted in, high heels clicking.

"Isobel?" I asked. She took a few shaky steps toward her, taking the glass of blood Isobel offered. "What the hell? Are you part of this?"

"No." said Isobel calmly. "Apparently Elijah took you out because he was afraid you would provoke Stefan and Damon into a fight. You know, because you saw how Damon comforted Elena after the car crash, and how he's been there for her like a gallant knight." Isobel sighed. "Irrational."

"What, that he would protect her?" I asked. "Not really."

She shrugged. "Long story short, you can leave, but stay away from Damon and Stefan. Don't try to screw with their heads… or them."

I snorted. "Yeah, that'll happen. Don't worry, I won't do anything stupid. Al I want to do is hand Elena to Klaus and then run."

Isobel nodded in a disinterested fashion and left the room. I waited until her footsteps were out of my range of hearing.

The building I was in was just some foreclosed house, one I had not desire to visits again. Trails of blood showed where I had been dragged in, and I followed them out. It was about time I had a talk with Elijah, no matter how nervous the idea made me.

Damon's POV

I didn't trust them.

More precisely, I didn't trust _her. _That tiny little blond witch with a smile that would make you think she was innocent as a virgin but power that could take out an Original. Yes, I hoped she would help kill Klaus, but I was afraid that she would kill someone else before we managed to lure Klaus into Mystic Falls.

Cassie was on the phone while I was pouring more drinks, trying to make it less obvious that I was eavesdropping. Diana kept glancing at me nervously, and every time she did I would shoot her my signature "Why-yes-I-_am_-attractive" looks, one that I hadn't used once since I'd gotten here. It was only to annoy her, anyway.

"Hello?" Cassie was saying. "Hi, Adam—" Dian flinched at the name "—it's Cassie. Whoah, it's okay, it's okay. Calm down. I'm fine, Adam, I promise. I mean, I've got a massive headache, and my wrists are rubbed raw, but…" she looked at me, and I mouthed "get to the point" at her. "Nevermind. I was kidnapped by a vampire. No, I can't explain now, but I'm safe, and so is Diana. We can't come back until we help kill this vampire, because if we leave the town we're in he'll kill everyone here."

Diana whispered, "Tell him to tell the others so that we don't have to call everyone."

Cassie nodded. "Adam, can you tell Melissa and Faye? Yes, Jake too… don't tell my father. He'll only come here and get himself killed."

She nodded and "mmm-hmmmmmmmed" the next few things Adam said. If I had tried hard enough I could have heard what he said, but I was too lazy. I was more distracted by the way Elena was practically curled on Stefan's lap, allowing him to rub soothing circles on her back. I knew I shouldn't be jealous, but I was.

Cassie was still talking when I pulled my eyes away from Elena and Stefan. "No, Adam, stay where you are. Please?" Pause. "What do you mean, something strange happened? What?"

"What?" asked Diana.

"Oh no." Cassie breathed. "He said that? It's… it's a curse? But I thought that we were…" she trailed off, glancing at Diana. "It didn't feel wrong."

This was getting interesting.

"Well, get rid of them. You did? Good. Ask my Grandma about it, I'm sure she could help." Cassie said. "Look, we can talk about it later. I have bigger problems right now." I could have sworn she looked at me when she said that. "Bye." One last apologetic glance at Diana. "Love you too."

She put the phone away, blushing. Diana looked distinctly upset.

"So, Cassie," I asked, sitting next to Lexi and earning a grumble from her, "what exactly 'didn't feel wrong'? Is Adam your boyfriend?"

"I don't k-know, maybe." Cassie stuttered. "It doesn't matter. There might have been this curse…"

"Do tell." Lexi said.

"I'm sorry." Cassie said to Diana. "It's just that after casino night Adam and I had been fighting, but we made up, and then—"

"Makeup sex." Lexi interrupted. "Always fun."

Cassie blushed again. "Yeah. But he said that there were dead birds outside, all around the house, and that my dad said it was a curse. Adam's dad said we were written in the stars, but really we're cursed."

"How wonderful." I said. "How does it apply to us?"

"It doesn't." Cassie said. "Lexi asked, so I told her what it meant. So, where are we going to sleep?"

"Here." Stefan said. "You can stay here, it's probably the safest place."

"Okay." Diana said, finally speaking up. She and Stefan were being extremely taciturn.

A phone rang in Diana's pocket. "Ooooh, is that your boyfriend?" I teased. She ignored me, instead answering the phone.

"Hello?" she asked. "Faye?"

"Faye?" Cassie's nose wrinkled. "Since when does she care?"

Diana shushed her. "Slow down, Faye, I'm fine. Didn't Adam explain this to you already?" She kept opening her mouth as though she was going to say something but kept getting silenced by the other girl's stream of chattering. "Faye… I may have broken my arm, but I'm fine, I swear. What's made you care all of a sudden?"

Cassie rolled her eyes, noticing my inquiring glance. "Faye's the resident bad girl." She explained. "She has this thing were she doesn't care much about anyone but herself."

Elena snorted. "She and Tyler would be perfect for each other."

"She's just lonely." Diana said defensively. "What? Oh, not you, Faye. I have to go. Okay? Okay. Bye, Faye."

"She's weird." Cassie observed. "She's been weird the past few days, actually. She spends a lot of time with you, Diana, have you noticed anything?"

"No." Diana looked down quickly.

"Hmmm…" Cassie's eyes became distant. "I remember when I met her the first thing she said when she saw me was 'You must be the new girl. You're very pretty'. I got this eerie feeling that she was going to rip my heart out or something."

"Then you'll be right at home in Mystic Falls." Elena said wryly. Humor from Elena? I smiled inwardly; I was rubbing off on her.

"Hurray." Cassie mock-cheered. "So, can we get to bed?"

"Yes, can we?" Diana echoed, yawning as soon as the words left her mouth. "Please?"

"Of course." Stefan cut in. "Follow me, I'll take you to the guest bedrooms. Is there anything you'll need?"

"How about clothes?" Lexi suggested. "Clearly you have none. I could go get you some, if you want."

Cassie and Diana both smiled and nodded. Lexi looked overjoyed at the prospect of going shopping. "You're coming with me." She ordered Stefan. "We didn't get any time to hang out before because of that stupid wolf, and now we can do it while I shop."

"Of course." Stefan said graciously. I snickered, imagining Stefan following Lexi through the store and she reminisced and tried to make him help pick out clothes. I felt absolutely no sympathy.

"Will you be staying somewhere else?" Stefan asked. I realized that he was talking to me.

"I should probably stay here to guard everyone." I said. "In case Klaus comes back."

Stefan nodded even though it was clear he wanted me as far away as possible. He led the two witches upstairs, and came back five minutes later. "Elena?"

"What?" She was still curled up on the couch where he'd left her.

"Do you need a ride home?"

She shook her head. "No, I think I'll stay here for a while. Damon can drive me home."

"Okay."

Again, it was obvious that it was the last thing Stefan wanted to do, but he allowed it. I had to give him credit for that. He was leaving me alone in his house with Elena and two powerful witches.

When he and Lexi left I casually came over to Elena and draped myself next to her drink in hand. After a second I decided against the drink and put it on the table next to the couch.

"Busy day." Elena said, rubbing her eyes and yawning. "First I wake up to discover that I was rescued by you from Mason, then we go to the charity event and Jeremy nearly kills Tyler, then we went to the ball, had a face-down with Elijah, and got two witches."

"That was all in one day?" I asked, slowly going over the events in my mind. She was right, though, but I could barely believe it. It had been one of those days when so many things happened it seemed like a lifetime had gone by. "Geez."

"I'll say." She yawned again, stretching out so that she had her head and upper body curled up on my lap. I didn't dare move. "Wake me when it's over, okay?"

"Sure thing."

It was soothing, watching Elena drift to sleep. I reached across her and grabbed a duvet that had been draped over the back of the couch, tucking it around her thin form. She sighed softly when I finished, cuddling closer to me.

Hours passed, enough that even my eyes were drooping. I was drifting in and out of sleep when suddenly my eyes sprang open. Elena was gone.

"Elena?" I asked, looking around. The duvet was neatly folded next to me, but there was no note. I wondered why she would have just gone without waking me. It was nice of her, but I would have preferred to drive her home, especially at such a late hour.

I wandered the house for about an hour before I finally went back to the couch. It was just as well that she had left, because if Stefan had come back to see Elena on my lap like that it would have driven him to the edge, or worse.

I slept the rest of the night peacefully enough, but around seven in the morning—Stefan and Lexi had long since gotten home and gone to bed—I heard someone rapping at the door. I took my time getting there, grabbing a drink as I walked.

When I opened the door I was greeted by four angry looking people, two girls, two guys. One of the guys was blond, tall, and lean, while the other was short-ish with red hair that was gelled into Stefan-like spikes. One girl had almond skin and gently curling brown hair, like Bonnie, while the other had jet black hair, pale skin, and very high and prominent cheekbones that framed her golden, flaming eyes. She stepped towards me, glaring daggers. "Is Diana here?"

"And Cassie." The red-haired guy added.

"Who are you?" I asked, opting to completely disregard their questions.

"Faye." Said the golden-eyed girl.

"Melissa." The Bonnie look-alike said.

"Jake." The blond, lean guy said.

The last one was still glaring at me, but said, "Adam. Now where are Cassie and Diana?"

"Oh dear." I sighed. I led them in and stopped at the bottom of the stairs. "Hey, Cassie, Diana! Your posses of monosyllabic witches have arrived, and they look vengeful!"

**A/N: I had fun with this.**


	13. Fade Away

**A/N: Oh gosh… "Break On Through" was so intense. Was I the only one screaming "TAKE OF THE RING YOU IDIOT!" at Jeremy when Elena called him? Seriously, he has one of those stupid "don't die" rings or whatever they're called and HE IS GOING TO TURN INTO A PYSCHPATHIC KILLER! I can't believe Elena didn't tell him to get rid of the stupid ring. And then next week there was "The Murder of One" and OH MY WORD of course you can't kill Originals. That would just be too easy, wouldn't it?**

**Rants are fun. Also, to anyone who watches Secret Circle… did you find "Curse" really really really maddening? I can't believe John Blackwell would stoop so low, even if it meant basically putting his daughter in a depression. Poor Cassie. And poor Faye. I can't wait until she just gives up on all the annoying "bad" boys and realizes she had to be with Diana. (FAYANA!)**

**Yeah… and then there was "Sacrifice". Well… was I the only one that thought John Blackwell would pull a Bonnie and give the demon dude a headache? Because I did think that… until demon dude exploded. Oh well.**

**This isn't beta-ed this time, so… you've been warned. Sorry for any mistakes. **

Damon's POV

The four witches were clearly irritated, and it had only then started to occur to me that I shouldn't make them angry. The one with golden eyes—Faye—was poised as though she would strike at any moment. "Cassie? Diana?" I called again, a hint of panic in my tone. I reprimanded myself internally, remembering the headaches Bonnie used to give me.

After a minute there was a grumpy, "What?"

"Your psychotic witch friends look ready to hurt me." I called back. "Please come down. Now would be preferable."

Cassie shuffled down the staircase, yawning and rubbing her eyes. They widened when she saw her friends. "Oh. I thought you were messing with me."

"Cassie." Adam said. He looked like he wanted to throw himself at her, but he didn't. I wondered what exactly the "curse" between them entailed.

Cassie blushed and looked away. Faye's eyes widened.

"Hey… wait a minute…" she said.

"Faye…" Adam warned.

"There's something going on here." Faye said. She watched as Cassie finally came to Adam and took his hand hesitantly.

"It's nothing." Cassie said. Diana had just appeared at the top of the stairs, but she stopped when she saw everyone else and heard what they were talking about. I felt a pang of sympathy for her. It was never fun to see someone you loved with someone else. I may not have known much about the odd group of witches, but already I could tell Diana either liked Adam a lot, or she had been with him at some point.

Adam sighed. "They should know." He said. "Look, there's this curse between our families, the Conants and the Blakes. We… we activated it the night before last night, before Cassie disappeared."

Faye gasped, smirking and covering her mouth with her hands. "Oh, so you finally got past the hand-holding stage of your relationship?"

Diana made a little sound like some had stabbed her in the gut. I winced.

"Diana?" Faye asked, looking up and spotting the brunette witch. "Diana! Your arm, it's in a sling, and a cast, and—"

"I know." Said Diana quietly. She made her way down and stood next to Faye. She opened her mouth to say something when Faye impulsively threw her arms around Diana, an action that had the rest of the group raising their eyebrows. "Faye, are you alright?"

"Of course I am." Faye snapped. She was using the sarcastic tone she had before, rather than the softened, sweet one she had used when she saw Diana.

"So, this curse," Diana said, even though I could tell the subject pained her, "What does it do?"

"Kill crows. They were just lying on the lawn yesterday when I walked outside," Said Adam. "There's also a chance that someone in the Circle might die. Blackwell thinks it might be Jake."

I glanced at the tall blond boy, Jake and noticed that he was sweating a lot more than a normal person. "So fascinating." I said. "Will it be much of a problem? There still is the whole Klaus and Elijah thing…" I trailed off, letting them remember last night. Diana paled considerably.

"Adam?" asked Cassie.

"There's a potion that he gave me." Adam said. "It'll only take a day, and then you can do whatever you need to."

"Perfect." I said. I started to herd them all out. "Now leave, please. Your incessant chatter is starting to make my head hurt." Truthfully, I wanted to find out where Elena had gone, and I had no desire to leave six witches snooping around the boardinghouse.

"We won't leave town." promised Cassie, knowing how much it would kill Elena if her friends got hurt.

"Like hell you won't." Faye said, linking her arm through Diana's good one. "I'm not letting you stay in some psychotic town where there are vampires." She glared at me. "By the way, the vampire thing; so _not _sexy."

"Hey!"

"We can't leave, Faye." Diana said. She had a lot of patience for Faye. "If we do people will get killed, and then Klaus and Elijah will come after us."

Faye grumbled angrily under her breath, but I decided not to bother anymore. I said, "Just don't leave town." and promptly slammed the door in their faces. Whatever drama they had to deal with, they could do it themselves.

I went upstairs, looking through the rooms. Elena wasn't in Stefan's room, which could have been a possibility, much as I disliked it. Luckily she wasn't there. Stefan was alone in bed, snoring softly. I held back my laughter as I went to check on Lexi.

She was also curled up in bed, her legs held to her chest. She looked like she had a fever, sweating but shivering at the same time. It was one of the mysteries that I still hadn't figured out yet: how she was still alive.

It wasn't possible, it just wasn't. I could remember how quickly the werewolf bite had taken over me, and how easily it killed Rose. Lexi may not have been in the best shape, but it was as if she had a cold. She wasn't hallucinating, she wasn't wracked by excruciating pain… it wasn't that I wanted her to suffer. I just had no idea why she was still alive.

I moved on, shaking my head. It didn't matter. Stefan needed Lexi and there was no way I would let anything stop that from happening.

Eventually I went downstairs and proceeded to day-drink, but a knock sounded at the door. When I answered Bonnie was standing there. "Hello."

"Hi." I said.

"We haven't had much time to talk." She said, walking in. "Ever since you gave me that note on the first day of school I haven't been able to find you. Have you been spending all your time with Elena?"

"I… no…" I mumbled. I followed her into the main room and poured another glass of bourbon. "Not exactly. I was hiding, mostly, because I was supposed to just stay out of everyone's way and make sure I didn't screw up everything."

"Like alternate universe Bonnie said you did?" Bonnie said. She sat on the couch, oddly calm even though I was sure the Bonnie I had known would have enclosed a list of awful things about me in that letter.

I nodded. "But Elena was in a car crash, and I had to make sure she was okay. Then it slowly spiraled into… this."

" 'This' being what, exactly?" asked Bonnie.

"I don't know." I sat across from her and took a sip of my drink. "I've always loved her, but here it's different. When I'm here she's my friend because here I didn't kill her brother or kill Lexi or kidnap her and make her go to Georgia with me. Actually, that was fun." When I added the last part Bonnie glared.

"You killed Jeremy?" she asked, her tone dangerous and icy.

I said, "Yes, but he came back because he had a ring like Alaric's. As for Lexi, Elena was only mad at me because it hurt Stefan."

"You still killed them." Bonnie said. Oddly enough, there wasn't as much anger in her voice as there could be. I knew very well what a truly angry Bonnie looked like, but she only looked annoyed. It was probably because no one was actually dead because of me, at least not in this universe.

I sighed, shifting in my seat. "I did. However, they're not dead here."

"No." she agreed. "Look, I trust you. I don't know alternate universe Bonnie, which means that I don't know if she's biased. I can't judge you on a letter from someone who's most likely suffered at the hands of a vampire, or who has an obvious hate for you. I just think that you should give Elena some space."

I was taken back by her confession that she trusted me, but my hope deflated when she finished talking. I didn't mean any harm by staying near Elena. Elena made me feel wanted, she even made me feel safe. After the first few lonely weeks in Mystic Falls I had welcomed the company. "I—"

"Don't." Bonnie interrupted. "I'm sure you're not trying to hurt her."

"I'm not."

"No, but you have that look in your eyes."

I felt yet another headache coming on. "The look mentioned in the letter?"

"Yes." She said. She was sympathetic but resolute. "I know you care for Elena and want her to be safe, but I don't think you're good for her." I was about to protest but she silenced me with the wave of her hand. "Listen, I'm sure you would treat her like a princess in one of those Disney movies, but you can't be with her. Stefan has been her rock ever since she her parents died. He's one of the only good things in her life. She _depends_ on him, Damon, and you shouldn't get in the way."

"I'm not trying to." I said.

She shrugged. "I know, but it's so obvious. I don't want you to confuse Elena. She's too nice for her own good. I don't want her to dump Stefan and then regret it because she thought she might have liked you."

I nodded, defeated. "Fine. This doesn't mean I'm leaving, because things are far from over."

"Good. You owe alternate universe Elena for what you may or may not have done, so you should see whatever you started through to the end."

I felt numb, dead. I just kept nodding as Bonnie talked and then left. I drank more bourbon but still the feeling wouldn't leave.

I should have seen it coming. Bonnie had probably seen Elena and I briefly hold hands when Elijah was threatening me and started to realize what was happening. I had assumed that because Bonnie didn't hate vampires in this universe she wouldn't suspect me. It was only now occurring to me how creepy and stalker-y I might seem to be. Besides, Bonnie would never let Elena get hurt if she could help it.

The day only proceeded to get worse when Katherine showed up.

Katherine's POV

I was too tempted at the idea of a visit to the boardinghouse. Elijah had refused to speak to me, only turning me away with the warning that if I screwed anything up he would end me in an unpleasant way. I guessed that it didn't matter that he had liked me before.

"Damon." I purred, sliding through the doorway so my body brushed against his. He wasn't amused. "Good to see you again."

"You were a no-show at the ball." Damon said. He looked like he had a migraine.

I slid onto the couch. "I was, but Elijah said he made it there instead. I guess he doesn't trust me as much as I thought he did."

"I wonder why." Damon snapped.

"Mmmmm… because I'm a psychotic bitch, remember?"

"Oh, that." Damon said. He went over to the table where he and Stefan stashed all their alcohol.

"So you're a day drinker now?"

"No." He said. "But any more visits from 'friends' and I think I might be reduced to it."

I held out my hand and a second later he placed a drink in it. "Sounds like you and Stefan aren't getting along very well."

"No, but there are a few people here that don't care for me." He said. I wondered who it could be but didn't dare to ask. "What do you want, Katherine?"

"Oh, nothing." I said. "I was bored. I didn't get to see you at the ball, so I figured I might as well come here."

He sighed wearily and downed his drink in a gulp. "I'm not in the mood. If that's all you want, get out."

I didn't budge. Instead I sat there and stared at him for a full five minutes before he finally stood.

"Katherine, get out."

"No." I said. "I think maybe I'll stay here for a while, perhaps until your new friends Sabrina and Glinda come back."

"No."

"Please?" I whined, batting my eyelashes. It was odd how Damon seemed unaffected by me. From what I had heard, he had been hell bent on getting me out of the tomb for years, but for some reason it abruptly changed when he got to Mystic Falls. It became about protecting Elena. Still, I didn't see how my resemblance to her didn't affect him.

Someone knocked at the door before I could keep harassing Damon. "Great, just great." He complained, slamming his drink onto the table. "I swear if it's another person coming to be helpful or hang out I'm going to lose it."

I half expected it to be Elijah, or maybe Isobel. They would want me to get out of the boardinghouse, even if Stefan wasn't there.

"What?" Damon snapped at someone. "If you're selling cookies I don't want any." Oh good, just some annoying girl scouts.

"Please, I came to see someone." I heard a tiny voice say. My stomach felt like it was plunging down, farther and farther until I thought I would be sick. What the hell? Had Damon drugged my drink?

"Who?"

"A girl."

I heard Damon snort. "You should be more specific."

"Katerina Petrova."

Oh no. I gulped and curled up, holding my stomach. This had to be some trick of Elijah's.

"Fine, come in." I could hear a note of suspicion in Damon's voice, and rightly so. How many people knew my real name?

Damon walked in first, grabbing his glass and slumping back onto the couch. "There's a girl scout here to see you." He said.

I glanced up at the figure in the doorway and realized why my stomach was doing loop-the-loops like it was the end of the world. A little girl stood there, no more than ten or eleven. She had olive skin, curling brown hair, and deep-set olive-gold eyes. She smiled at me. I couldn't speak, but she only had to say one word.

"Mama."

Cassie's POV

I sat, legs jittering nervously as I waited for the potion to take effect. The recipe for it that my father had given Adam had been rather unspecific as to what it did, but he had texted me to explain it. When Adam and I took it, it would make our love for each other disappear. No more love and a destiny written in the stars, no more of the Circle members dying.

Adam was sleeping peacefully next to me. We had made the potion at an abandoned building. Once Adam had realized what the potion would do he refused to take it. He said that he could never stop loving me no matter what the potion did. After we had finally taken it he and I had cried ourselves to sleep while the rest of the Circle tactfully snuck out. Not even Faye had any snarky comments about the curse being "abstinence education at work".

I couldn't stop thinking about every moment I had ever spent with Adam. Ever since that day in the woods when we did the spell with water… "_A drop of water, as light as air"_… I had _known_. We just made sense. Adam and I being together was like the sun rising in the morning, except now the sun wasn't going to rise anymore. I desperately hoped that the potion would take effect soon, because the feelings still stirring in my chest were the same as they'd ever been.

Adam shifted, yawning. I watched with bated breath as he groggily pulled himself upright and blinked, seeing me. "Hey."

"Hey." I repeated, still waiting for the turmoil in my gut to vanish. "How are you?"

He shrugged. "I feel… different."

"Different how?" Maybe it would happen soon for me. I prayed that the nauseous feeling I had was just a side effect of the potion, not because I was starting to realize what was going on.

"I'm not nervous." He said. He smiled just the slightest. "I feel good."

"Why would you be nervous?" I asked, even as I was thinking, _oh no, oh no, this isn't happening… no, no, no, no, no! Why do _I_ remember if _he_ doesn't! Why do I still want to kiss him?_

He laughed a little, saying, "Whenever I'm around you, I always get nervous because I might not be good enough for you, or I might hurt you. I don't feel that anymore. What about you?"

_Don't cry._ I ordered myself sternly. "Yeah, I feel the same." I took a breath to steady myself. "It's like I can remember all the things we did, but as someone else's movie. It's not us."

"Exactly!" Adam agreed cheerfully. He stood and grabbed his jacket. "That's what it feels like for me too."

"Mmmm-hmmm." I managed.

"So I'll see you later?" he asked. "I know you and Diana have to stay here, but I should catch up with the others."

"Yeah, see you later." I said. I was balling the blanket on my lap in my fists to keep from crying or screaming.

I kept myself collected and calm until he walked out of the door. Then I gasped for air like I was drowning, clutching onto the blanket for dear life as shuddering sobs wracked my body. He was gone. I curled up into a ball and let the deep, overwhelming despair take over.

Katherine's POV

I held tightly to my daughter, close to hyperventilating as I mumbled, "You're safe, you're here, you're here."

I didn't care why she was here or how she was alive, just that she was. I had never felt safer or surer about something than I did in my life. It was like the void in my heart was full, so full that I could barely breathe or do anything but hold her.

"Mama, it's okay." The little girl cried. She pulled away and smiled at me so widely that I was sure there was nothing brighter.

"I'm sorry." I bit out harshly, my voice ragged from emotion. Tears were streaming down my face. "I'm so sorry, I never wanted to abandon you. I swear I didn't. I tried to find you but so many people had children, young ones. In my village there so many that I couldn't find you and I was forced to leave before I could."

"I know you didn't mean to leave me, Mama." She said. She reached up to wipe the tears off of my cheeks and eyelids. "Please don't cry."

"What's your name?" I asked. "What did they call you?"

She said, "Tabitha. Most people call me Tibby or Abby."

"Tabitha." I repeated. It was a beautiful name, perfect for my beautiful little girl. "You have your father's eyes."

"But your hair and skin and beauty." She said. "My father wasn't worthy of you if he left you to lose me."

I started to straighten her rumpled hair, composing myself. I was only then remembering that Damon was still in the room, probably completely confused. I turned to look at him, but he seemed amused rather than puzzled. Of course, he was probably on his seventh or eighth glass of bourbon.

"Who's that?" Tabitha—no, Tibby—asked, pointing at Damon. "He looks drunk."

"He is." I hesitantly took her hand and led her to the couch with me, unsure how I should act around her. I'd never had much time to care for someone like a child. "Sweetheart," Damon scoffed at my use of the term and I glared at him "How are you alive?"

"Like you are." She answered simply. "Some man named Niklaus found me and turned me. He said I reminded him of a dear friend. Do you know someone named Niklaus, Mama?"

My heart dropped to my stomach. "Yes."

"Is he your friend?"

"No." I was starting to panic. Was it really a coincidence that Tibby was here when Elijah was? "You can't ever go near him, Tibby, he'll hurt you. I've been running from him for years."

"I saw him yesterday." She whimpered, scared. "He was talking to his brother. Are they going to kill us, Mama? Why would he even have a reason to kill you?"

"It's a very long story, isn't it, Katherine?" Damon interrupted. "Look, I hate to intrude on your moment, but if Klaus is in town we're in trouble. I haven't seen Elena all day. She could be captured by him somewhere, and the witches are out too. And Caroline!"

He jumped from the couch and started dialing a number on his phone. "Damn it, Elena, answer your phone!"

Elena's POV

I grumbled as my phone rang for what had to be the billionth time that day. As much as I loved having Damon near me at all time, hovering like he did, the feelings I was starting to have scared me. Besides, after I left the boardinghouse I had texted Stefan, telling him to meet me. He had shown up at the Grill half and hour ago, and I was enjoying myself.

"What could he possibly want?" I complained, finally picking it up and answering. "What, Damon?"

"WHY WOULDN'T YOU ANSWER YOUR PHONE?"

I held it away from my ear. "Because I'm out with Stefan and it would be rude. What's wrong?"

"Klaus is here and the witches are gone. They left to do some spell—something about Cassie and Adam having sex and activating a curse—but they haven't come back."

"What?" my heart started to pound. "This can't be happening."

"Is Caroline around anywhere near you?"

I glanced around the Grill. "No, she's not. I haven't seen her all day, and the same goes for Tyler. Do you really think—"

"It doesn't make sense!" Damon growled. "There's not even a full moon tonight, so why would he go after everyone? Why is he here?"

"Maybe he's not." I reasoned. "You're just panicking, okay? If he needs a full moon then it must mean that everyone is just out somewhere." As I finished speaking I saw Caroline walk into the Grill. "Caroline just walked in. Calm down Damon, it's fine."

"Then how can you explain Klaus coming into town today?"

I shrugged even though he couldn't see me. "Maybe he just thought he should keep an eye on all of his sacrifice ingredients."

There was a long silence. I could have sworn I heard a girl talking in the background. "I hope so. Klaus rarely does anything without a reason."

"So what was that about Cassie and Adam and a curse? Is Adam here?" I could remember Cassie mentioning Adam last night.

"I don't know. Apparently Adam's alcoholic father said they were 'written in the stars' and then Adam and Cassie got a little too horny, so now Cassie's lawn is covered with dead crows."

"Is that bad for us?"

"Nope. It only affects her witchy little Circle. They came here today and took Cassie and Diana to make some potion to fix it."

"Good." I said. "Look, can I call you later, or come over there after Stefan and I are done eating?"

"Of course."

I bid Damon goodbye and relayed everything he had said to Stefan. "So, should we head over there?" I asked. "He sounded worried."

Stefan got that serious look, the one that said he didn't like what was going on. "I thought that you two decided Klaus wasn't going to hurt anyone until the full moon."

"No…" I said. "It's just that I thought I heard some girl with Damon, and she sounded like me."

"Katherine?"

"Duh."

He rubbed his fingers in circles next to his eyes. "We shouldn't be there if she is."

"I guess not." I didn't want to admit it, but I wanted to go there just because Damon was there. I didn't want Katherine trying anything to him Besides, I felt guilty for just leaving and causing him to panic. Unfortunately feeling all those things meant I also felt bad because I knew I shouldn't have feeling like that when Stefan was my boyfriend.

"So how about we go out somewhere? Just you, me, and a normal date?"

That was tempting, considering how hectic my life had been lately. "That does sound nice."

He leaned forward, gently kissing my cheek. "So is it a yes?"

"Yes."

Damon's POV

It was hours later and still Elena and Stefan were MIA. Elena had texted me, saying she was going to see a movie with Stefan and would come as soon as she could, but the movie couldn't have been that long. Eventually I accepted the fact they were probably at Elena's house. I also accepted what they were most likely doing considering that it was nearly ten-thirty.

Katherine had left me alone after Tabitha, or "Tibby" as Katherine called her, had arrived. She asked about the girl's childhood, and her adoptive parents. She braided Tibby's hair, got her new clothes that were less dirty, hugged her and held her hand. She sprinkled the little girl's face with kisses, affectionately tapping the tip of Tibby's nose whenever she said something funny. I found it surreal to see Katherine that way, mostly because it was like I was watching Elena. In Katherine's eyes I saw the gentle, motherly caring that was in Elena. Much as I distrusted Katherine I knew she would do anything for Tibby.

I had stopped drinking around three, when Katherine threatened me after saying I was a bad influence. Then I just retired to the couch in front of the fire and observed Katherine and Tibby.

At that particular moment Katherine and Tibby were spinning around, half dancing and half tripping over each other's feet. I couldn't tell what dance Katherine was trying to teach her daughter, but it looked like the one people did at the Miss Mystic Falls event.

Katherine glanced up at me. "Brooding again?"

"No."

"Elena's not going to come back tonight." She said. I knew it was true.

"Great. I'm going to bed."

I trudged up the stairs. Why did I care anyway? Bonnie had made it clear that I was supposed to stay away from Elena unless I absolute needed to see her. She clearly wasn't in any immediate danger. I also knew she was right when she said that Klaus was merely here to make sure no one for the sacrifice tried to run. That, and I still had the suspicion that he had sent Tibby to mess with Katherine's head. It wasn't a coincidence that Tibby had shown up when Klaus did.

I heard a knock at my bedroom door. "What, Katherine?"

A blonde head peeked in. "It's Cassie, not Katherine."

"Oh." I said, relieved that at least she was back. "Is Diana here too?"

"She's sleeping." Cassie said. "Something happened between her and Faye, and she cried herself to sleep."

She stepped into the room, the light casting shows on her face. When I looked closely I saw Cassie had been crying too, presumably for hours. Her eyes were red and puffy, with mascara smeared all over her face. Her hair was damp and rumpled.

"What happened?" I asked.

She had her arms wrapped around her middle as she came to sit on the edge of the bed. "Nothing."

"Oh, so crying is a pastime for you?"

"Shut up." She didn't sound like she was kidding, but I pressed on anyway.

"What happened with the potion?" Realization hit me. "Did Jake die? Did it not work?"

She shook her head. "No, he's fine. Adam and I took the potion, so Jake's fine now."

"You took it?" I asked. "Um, normally the dying person takes the potion, not the people who caused the dying."

Cassie said, "Yeah, it doesn't work that way. The potion took away the feelings Adam and I have for each other, which made Jake get better." She said it bitterly, remorsefully.

"And that means…?"

"He doesn't love me anymore." She stated. "But… I love him. I still love him."

It was the saddest thing I'd ever heard. "It didn't work on you?"

"No." she said. Her voice cracked and I saw how broken she was. "He doesn't love me. My magic is too strong for me to forget."

She sat there, clenching her fists in the bed sheets. Suddenly her face crumpled, giving way to the tears and the despair. I gathered her in my arms, vaguely remembering how I'd done the same for Elena.

"He doesn't love me anymore." She moaned, heartbroken. Her seemingly frail shoulders were trembling. "He d-doesn't love me."

"Shhhhh…" I soothed, rocking her back and forth gently. Her fingers were digging into my back as she cried. "I'm so sorry."

I don't know how long I held her, but eventually Cassie's sobs slowed until she was breathing evenly. She pulled away, hiccupping and rubbing her eyes. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to—"

"It's okay." I said. "I know what it's like to love someone who you can never have."

"Elena?"

I nodded. "I used to think that maybe I could make her see that she should be with me, but it never would have worked."

"I think that she's a fool if she doesn't realize what she's missing." Cassie said. Her hands slipped down until they reached mine, entwining our fingers.

"The same goes for Adam."

We sat there, Cassie absently rubbing her fingers along the palms of my hands. The gesture was sweet. It was like she was trying to thank me but didn't have the words. Impulsively I leaned forwarded and planted a light kiss on her lips. She was different than Elena; small, delicate… she smelled like some old scent I recognized as a southern flower.

"What are you—"

I shushed her. "I think it's time we both moved on."

"I can't." she said brokenly. "Not anymore than you can."

I stroked her cheek. "Okay."

She surprised me, reaching out for my face and kissing me deeply. "But maybe we can try." She whispered.

I agreed silently, kissing her back and letting my hands roam under her shirt. Maybe she was right. Either way, I badly needed a distraction from everything.

I needed to get Elena out of my head.

Elena's POV

It was early in the morning when I checked my phone and saw Damon had texted me twice while I was at the movies with Stefan and then home with Stefan.

_So, Katherine's daughter just showed up. Thought you should know. ~Damon_

_Seriously, get over here. Maternal Katherine is scary. ~Damon_

I was confused, not sure he was actually serious. I was considering waking Stefan, but he looked so peaceful. I had woken with him pressed up to my back, instinctively curled into my human warmth. Now he was doing the same, but lying in place I had been for warmth rather then lying behind me. I decided to head over to the boardinghouse and see what was really going on without Stefan, letting him sleep.

On the drive there I wondered what it would mean if Katherine's daughter was really here. I hoped it would make Katherine be a better person, but in my heart I knew she would be even more protective and dangerous. Protective Katherine would kill us all to keep her daughter safe. At least that's the impression I had gotten from what Damon had told me.

When I reached the boardinghouse all was silent. I crept in and saw Katherine sprawled across the couch. On her lap was a little girl, only ten years old or so, with dark curling hair and olive skin like mine and Katherine's. I tip-toed past them. Damon had to be in his room.

Damon's POV

I was watching Cassie sleep. I'd always found it so peaceful to do the same with Elena, but lately I'd felt like it was morally wrong. Back in the universe where I did watch her sleep I had wanted her for more selfish reasons, and I'd hurt her.

Cassie was smaller, blonder, and paler than Elena, a complete contrast to the beautiful dark locks and olive skin Elena possessed. On the inside both girls were the same; broken and alone. Elena had lost so many people, and I had a feeling that she was slipping away from Stefan. As for Cassie… her whimpering as she dreamed and how she loved someone who couldn't love her back—she was just as broken as Elena. I wondered if it was why I'd slept with her.

"Morning." I said, leaning over and brushing her bare back with my hand. "You should probably wake up."

"… hmmmm?" Cassie stirred, rolling onto her side so that she could see me. "Oh. Hi."

"Hi." I said. She yawned. "So…?"

"What?" Cassie asked, pulling the covers up further so I'd look her in the eyes, and not somewhere else. "Something wrong?"

"Nope. Of course, this is Mystic Falls, so don't count on the peace to last." I said.

Despite the sleep Cassie looked twice as tired as she had last night. Her eyes were still puffy and swollen from crying, and they had dark circles under them. "I didn't think it would last long." She sighed, sniffing. "Nothing ever does."

I could sense tears on the way. "Hey…"

"I'm fine." She said. I laid a hand on her arm, rubbing gently. "Sorry. It's just that he was with me and he loved me, and now he doesn't."

"You should tell him." I said. "It's the only way you'll be able to move on, at least temporarily. You can go back to crying and ice cream eating when you're safely in Salem."

She snorted at "safely" and pulled her arm away, getting up and looking for her underwear. "It's Chance Harbor, and I doubt we'll ever be safe there."

"Same goes for Mystic Falls, yet I stay." I said. I gently took her arm and pulled her back into bed. "Where are you going, anyway?"

"Out?" She suggested. "You know, so that no one will walk in and start to lecture me."

"So you mean Diana?"

"Yeah." She said. "I have a feeling she knows the elixir didn't work."

"What does it matter what she thinks?" I asked, raising my eyebrows suggestively. "After all, if the elixir did work then you wouldn't mind being in my bed, now would you?"

"I guess not." Cassie said. She pulled closer, lightly kissing me. "She would be happy to think I'd moved on, even if it's with you."

"Hey, hey, I'm a decent guy." I said. "Most of the time, that is."

She laughed when I rolled on top of her, kissing her nose and forehead before I went down to her neck. I was leaving a trail of kisses from her pulse point to her collarbone when I heard a gasp that wasn't coming from Cassie.

I only had enough time to look up and see Elena's hurt face before she ran.

Elena's POV

I didn't know why I was upset. All I knew is that when I went into his bedroom, Damon was on top of Cassie, _kissing_ her neck and her face, while she laughed and smiled. It made me furious and I had no idea why.

I ran downstairs, waking Katherine. I didn't care. Katherine shot me a venomous look as I stormed out, into the backyard. I stumbled along until my legs finally stopped functioning. I curled up underneath a bush—some kind with flowers—and started to cry.

Part of me knew why I was upset; I liked Damon. He was sweet, gentle, and kind. He treated me like the most beautiful girl in the entire world. He was only here because he wanted to protect me. Damon, in short, was probably the most perfect guy I'd ever met in my entire life. He was willing to die for me even though he barely knew me _and_ even though he knew he couldn't have me because I was Stefan's.

It was also because for some reason I thought I was the only girl he had eyes for. It was stupid and childish for me to think that I was the only girl Damon liked. He was only human, dead or undead. Cassie was pretty and she was heartbroken, if what I'd heard about the curse was true. They both deserved to be happy, even if it meant they were happy together. Besides, _I was with Stefan._ I had to keep telling myself that.

Finally I slowly pulled my legs and arms away from my chest, wiping stray tears from my cheeks. I wasn't going to cry or make a big deal out of Damon and Cassie, because it wasn't something that mattered at the moment. Right now I had to deal with the aftermath of Katherine's daughter being here and I had to help Damon figure out how we could stop the sacrifice.

I walked back inside to find a red-cheeked Cassie rushing to her and Diana's room with one of Damon's shirts on. Damon was walking downstairs behind her. He glanced at me, and I ducked my head, choosing to sit across from Katherine. Right now, she was the lesser evil of the two in the room.

"Umm… she's cute." I managed awkwardly. Katherine drew protective arms around her daughter. "Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean it in a creepy way."

"Don't get any ideas." Katherine warned. The little girl stirred, yawning and rubbing her eyes. "Morning, Tibby." She said brightly to the girl.

"Good morning, Mama." The girl—Tibby—responded cheerily. I found it unsettling.

"So…" I trailed off. "You have a daughter that's not dead."

"No, she's dead." Said Damon. "You know, _undead._"

Tibby nodded.

"Umm, okay." I said. I refused to look at Damon. "So what do we do?"

"Ask the witches." Damon said. "Or… witch. Whoever stayed here."

That meant that he didn't have a plan yet, but I wasn't worried. Mason was far away, and the next full moon wouldn't be for a while. Even the "werewolf bites are fatal to vampire" didn't have me worried. Last time I had seen Lexi she looked like she had a fever, but she didn't look like she would die.

"Elena?" Damon asked.

"What?" I said. Of course he noticed how weird I was being.

He gestured to the next room with his head. Katherine was completely ignoring me, too absorbed in Tibby to care what I was doing, so I reluctantly got up and followed.

"Are you okay?" he asked once he had shut the door.

I shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because Cassie and I were kind of indecent and in the same bed. You can pretty much figure out what happened."

I lied, saying, "I'm fine, Damon. I was just a little freaked. I mean, last time I walked in on someone mostly naked it was Alaric and Jenna, so that tends to leave bad memories."

"I would imagine it would." He said. He knew I was lying, I was sure he knew.

I kept playing with the ends of my hair, trying to distract myself. "Is it okay if I just go home for a while? Cassie and Diana obviously won't be ready to do anything for a while."

"Of course." Very suddenly his hands were on my face, cupping it gently so I had to look at him. I gulped. "But are you okay, Elena?"

"Yes."

Something flashed across his expression, almost like regret, but it was gone so fast I thought maybe I'd imagined it. "Go home, then. I'll call you."

I breathed a sigh of relief as he let me go. I could go home and figure out whatever I was feeling, rather than having to be stuck in the same room as Damon for hours.

I reached my car when a hand touched my arm and someone said, "Excuse me."

I turned and put on my best "I'm fine" smile for the stranger. "Yes?"

Cassie's POV

I was such an idiot. The very day I made Adam not love me anymore I went and slept with a guy who clearly liked someone else. I knew that Damon and I could never have anything real, but I wished I hadn't ruined it for Damon and Elena. I didn't care that she said she was with Stefan; it was painfully obvious that she loved Damon.

Damon arrived in the bathroom at that moment, seating himself at the edge of the tub. "Hi."

"Is she mad?"

He sighed. "I don't know. She ran outside, and I thought I heard crying, but when she came back she was fine. She said so, anyway."

I said, "People lie, Damon. She was lying."

"She loves Stefan."

"She loves _you_."

He didn't seem to be getting the message. "She can't. I always screw things up for her."

"As far as I've seen you're one of the best people in her life." I said. It was true. I could see the way her face lit up when she was around him, and how she always was just the slightest bit deflated when he left. "Maybe you made a mistake last night, but it's not all your fault. I practically threw myself at you."

"You were hurting. It's not your fault either." Of course he would be one of those annoying chivalrous types.

I groaned, eyes rolling. "Please. Like that's any excuse."

"Regardless, she's at home, and she's with Stefan. She should be with him anyway, he's safer than I am."

"Safer?" I snorted incredulously. "Damon…"

"What?"

"You. Are. Exasperating." I said. I pulled a light blue shirt over my head, tired of the drab grays and blacks I usually wore. "You're a freaking vampire, and so is Stefan. 'Safe' isn't really something that either of you can be, yet she still loves you."

"She loves Stefan."

I shrugged. "Maybe you don't want to admit it, or maybe you're as stupid as you're acting right now, but she does love you."

Whether my comment hurt him or struck a nerve, I couldn't tell. He just nodded and left me in peace. I felt bad about saying what I did, but it was true. I didn't want what he had with Elena to fall apart just because I was standing in the way.

He ducked his head back in. "Oh, Cassie?"

"Yeah?"

"You should really think over your situation with Adam before you can judge mine." He said. "If love Adam and the potion didn't work on you, doesn't he deserve to know?"

I stood motionless for a long time after he left.

Damon's POV

About three hours later I was on my third cup of bourbon. Elena was gone, Cassie was locked up in her bedroom, Diana was crying—why, I had no idea—and the rest of the witches were no where to be found. I was sure they had long since left Mystic Falls, and it was for their own good. They were only sitting ducks here.

I checked my phone several times, wondering if Elena was going to keep ignoring me.

_Elena, where are you? Are you sure you're okay? ~Damon_

Still nothing, not even after hours of texting over and over again.

I heard a soft noise, a little girl's laughter. It was followed by the more surprising sound of _Katherine's_ laughter. If I had been worried about Tibby's arrival before, I wasn't now. Katherine was overly protective and did snap at anyone that got near Tibby, but she was so absorbed in her daughter that she left everyone else alone. If only Tibby could have shown up while I was in a different universe. She would have been the perfect distraction.

Then again, Klaus sent her. That meant that she was either somehow evil, or she was leverage. I made a mental note to kick Katherine to the curb when I wasn't drunk.

A puffy-eyed brunette seated herself across from me, sniffing. "Hi there." I said.

She gulped, looking just as miserable as I felt. "Hi."

"What's wrong, dare I ask?" I said. "Last time I bothered caring it managed to make Elena cry."

"You and Cassie?" she asked.

"So you heard us?"

"Ewwww, no!" she giggled, brightening a little. "You're disgusting. What I meant was that Cassie told me."

"Oh." I said. "Of course she did. Anyway, I can promise that if you tell me what's wrong I will _not _ jump all over you."

Diana laughed. "I appreciate the thought. It's just that…"

"What?" I prodded patiently. It wasn't like I had anything better to do.

"It's Faye."

"She can be bitchy." I agreed. "She reminds me of the old me."

Diana sighed. "No, not that. It's just that lately we've been hanging out a lot together, and she never wants to talk to anyone in the Circle but me, and—"

I realized what was going on when I saw the softness in her eyes, her gentle tone. "You like her."

"I—what?"

"You like her." I repeated. "It's not that uncommon."

"I… I don't think t-that…" she stammered, blushing. "We're friends."

"She called you when you were here even though everyone says she only cares about herself. She practically murdered me when I wouldn't let her in the house, saying she needed to find you. Whatever she might have said to you that made you so upset, I'm sure she didn't mean it."

"She wanted me to go home with her." Diana admitted. "And then, out of nowhere, she was yelling, I was yelling, there was a lot of crying, and I guess she ran out. I didn't know why she was so upset."

"She likes you too." I said. I leaned forward to offer her a drink, but she shook her head. "She wants you somewhere safer."

"I want to go home, but I know I can't." She said.

I got up, dropping the crystal glass I held carelessly on the table. "Here's a thought; ask her to stay here with you. Clearly the two of you have a lot to work out."

She nodded and whipped out her cell phone. She was texting wildly when I left.

If only I could take my own advice, Elena might be walking back to the boardinghouse. Instead she was at home.

Elena's POV

I shivered in the man's tight grip. "P-Please, I just want to go home. I don't even know who you are."

The man outside the boardinghouse had quickly revealed himself as a vampire, whisking me away to some remote location. He had no desire to hurt me at the moment, as he already stated twice, but clearly he wanted me for something.

"Do you know who I am, Elena?"

"No."

He chuckled, his sinister grin an arc of white in the darkness of the abandoned building. "Do you know Elijah?"

I breathed in sharply. "Yes."

"He has a brother."

"Klaus." I mumbled. Suddenly I understood. "You're Klaus."

"One point for the doppelganger." He said.

"But there's no full moon for at least three more weeks." I said. "Why would you need me now?"

He shook his head. "You naïve little girl." I glared fiercely but was ignored. "With seven witches in Mystic Falls I don't need a full moon."

"Seven?"

"Bonnie, Cassie, Diana, Faye, Adam, Jake, and Melissa." He said. "I know that you thought the last four would only be here temporarily, but I think I will… _convince_ them to stay."

I shuddered. _I should have known something was happening, something Damon didn't suspect._

"Now I think it's a good time to get a werewolf and a vampire, don't you? How about you do me a favor and call Aunt Jenna."

I stared at him, blinking like a deer in the headlights. "What?"

"I thought it would be poetic, to have her death as part of the sacrifice. Don't you?"

I felt a silent scream building up at the back of my throat.

_Help._

**A/N: Yup. I really am going to stop there. By the way, I just wanted to thank all of the people that reviewed the last chapter. I hadn't gotten a lot of reviews lately, and I was feeling kinda neglected, so… it made my day :) **

**Edit: So what did you guys think of "Heart Of Darkness"? Because… that kiss was just *fangirl scream* **

**There are no words to describe my happiness.**


	14. Losing What Was Never Found

**A/N: Are there only three episodes left of VD? I can't remember, but I think it's three. So sad… this was the first season I watched on TV as it was airing, and I think it's going to be one of my favorite seasons.**

**Oh, and for everyone who thought maternal Katherine in the last chapter was creepy and unnatural; you're right, it is. You'll see why very soon.**

Elena's POV

"Please…" I gasped. What was he saying? He wanted to kill Jenna? Why? Why her? _Anyone but her, please!_

"Besides her, my only options are Caroline, Stefan, Damon, and Lexi. It's true that you have a special connection to both Salvatores and Caroline, but I think that having your last parent die with you would be much more poetic."

"Poetic?" I snapped. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"And seeing your brother so devastated will kill the Salvatores, and that will kill Katherine. It's a win-win, as the teenagers say."

"Katherine doesn't care about anyone but herself." I said. I hoped I could stall, make him forget what he had just said he would make me do.

"She cares about her daughter." Klaus said.

"You know about her?"

"Of course I do. I make it my business to know everything about my enemies." Klaus said. He walked over to a table and picked up a cellphone. "In fact, I've been to the young Lisabeth Petrova's grave many times."

"Her… her what?" I asked. "Her name is Tabitha, and she's not dead. Well, she's undead, but you know what I mean." I paused. "Is the grave a fake, to make people think she really died?" Even as I said it I knew it wasn't true.

"I think you know the answer to that." Klaus was dialing a number, frowning at the phone's small buttons.

"You tricked her." I breathed. "But how—? Katherine is mistrusting and manipulative as you. How did you make her think Tibby was her daughter?" A horrible though occurred to me. "Where did you get Tibby?"

"I know a lot of witches." Klaus said. "They can do devotion spells, ones that can fool even Katherine. As for Tibby, I found her in some town in Washington. She was easily turned and easily compelled. Tibby believes that she is truly Katherine's daughter."

"What's her real name?" I snarled. Hatred was boiling in the pit of my stomach like acid.

He shrugged. "No one will ever know. Not even I do, and as long as she keeps Katherine distracted then I personally don't care."

He made his slow, casual way over to me. "Now, Elena… do I have to do something unpleasant to your brother, or will you convince Jenna to come here?"

"Where is here?"

He rattled off the address. I glared.

"Here you go." He handed me the phone. "Please, don't do anything that you'll regret, because I _will _end your brother, and anyone else that you love."

I took the phone, my hands shaking. I had no idea what I could say that would tip off Jenna to the fact that I was in trouble and needed her to stay far away. I knew if I outright told her Klaus could probably have all my loved ones killed in minutes. I heard the sound of Jenna's voice, snapping me out of my trance.

"Hello?"

"Jenna?" I asked. My voice cracked.

"Elena? What's wrong? Where are you? Damon called and asked if you were home, saying you left the boardinghouse three hours ago."

I gulped. "Yeah. Yeah, I did. Look, Jenna, I need you to pick me up somewhere."

"Where?"

I glanced at Klaus, who whispered the address to me again, watching me carefully to be sure that I didn't make a mistake. It had occurred to me to send Jenna to the wrong house but I knew it was too risky. "Can you come pick me up when you have time?" Klaus shook his head. "Or now?"

"Of course, Elena. Are you sure you're alright?" Jenna sounded so genuinely worried that it broke my heart.

I nodded though she couldn't see me. "Yes, Jenna. Oh, before you go, would you mind checking to see if the mail's here yet?"

"Umm… why?"

My whole body was shaking, but Klaus didn't seem to be catching on to my plan. "I bought season one of Buffy the Vampire Slayer for Damon. I figured it would be funny to give it to him and tell him it was based off a real person. Would you mind giving it to him?"

"I'll do it after I get you. Stay where you are, I'll be there soon."

I could feel my stomach sinking further and further down. Damn it! Even if she did look in the mailbox she would probably just think I was losing it and head straight to the house I was in. With my luck she wouldn't even call Damon before she left.

"That's an odd request to ask someone when you're in a hurry to get home." Klaus commenting, taking the phone.

I shrugged, curling up on the floor with my back to a corner. If I couldn't control my shaking I knew he would catch on. "If I'm gong to die, I'd like him to have something to remember me by."

"I'm sure he'll appreciate it." Klaus said sarcastically. "I have to go and gather all the witches, but you should know that I have Greta here. If you try to leave she'll make you regret it."

"Greta?"

"She did the devotion spell on Tibby."

I pulled my knees to my chest and watched him leave. If only I knew where Greta was, maybe I could try to leave anyway. The only problem was that if he came back and couldn't find me then I was fairly certain he would carry through with the killing of loved ones. There were no windows in the room I was in, and the only door was probably guarded. I pressed my ear against the wall, hoping for some sort of sign as to where I was.

There was nothing aside from a barking dog. I let my head fall back helplessly as the tears rolled down my cheeks.

Damon's POV

It was getting late, much too late for drinking, but it seemed like the only way I could stay sane these days. Katherine and Tibby were being so cutesy that it was making me considering moving out.

Faye had arrived about ten minutes after Diana had texted her, and they'd been locked up in Diana's room ever since. Cassie was sleeping in mine so she wouldn't disturb the two girls. Stefan was writing in his diary—as per usual—and Lexi was sleeping.

My phone rang, starling me. I didn't know the number. "Hello?"

"Damon?"

"Yes?" her voice was familiar, but I couldn't quite place it.

"Damon, it's Jenna. Elena just called me."

My heart started to race. "Is she okay?"

There was a long pause, in which I could hear Jenna taking deep breaths. "I-I don't know. She said she was at some place—" Jenna read an address off a slip of paper "—and that she needed me to pick her up. She sounded terrified, like she was crying."

"What?"

"Yeah, I don't know why she would be there, or if we know anyone in that part of Mystic Falls. She also said that she wanted me to check the mailbox because she had ordered a copy of season one of Buffy, so she could give it to you."

I was confused. "What?"

"I didn't get it either. There's nothing in the mailbox, but she said I should give it to you."

I was starting to realize what was happening. "What else did she say?"

There was a loud crash upstairs, and I heard Diana and Faye screaming. "What was that?" Jenna asked.

"Stay where you are!" I commanded as I dropped the phone and sped up the stairs. I could hear Jenna's faint reply.

When I reached their room it was already empty. There was a broken window, probably from the vampire that had kidnapped the two witches. I knew it had to be one of Klaus's minions, because no sane vampire would try to capture a witch. I shot out of the room and dashed to mine, praying that maybe Cassie would be there.

When I arrived all that met me was a disturbingly large pool of blood, one that would make it hard to fight back if you'd lost that much.

Stefan was at my side in an instant. "What happened?"

"Klaus kidnapped all three witches, and he's got Elena too." I snarled. I cursed myself for letting her out of my sight.

"What?" Stefan made me look at him. "Do you know where she is?"

"Yes."

"Where?"

I knew it would be a bad idea to tell Stefan. He would rush there immediately and save her, but if he did he would probably become part of the sacrifice instead of Jenna. I wasn't about to let that happen. Elena would need Stefan once I was gone.

"I can't tell you." I said. "But that's only because if you go alone you'll get killed. We can't go get her. Klaus will kill everyone she loves if we try."

Stefan looked like he wanted to rip me apart, but he nodded. "What do I do?"

"Go find Bonnie, Jenna, Matt, Caroline, Jeremy—all of Elena's friends. Get them to the boardinghouse and have it signed over to Jenna."

"Give her the house?"

"Yes." I said. "That way Klaus can't get in, and neither can any of his vampire helpers. Don't let any of them leave."

"But…" Stefan began. "Matt doesn't know about vampires."

"Fill him in on them." I snapped. "I don't care, just keep everyone out of harm's way."

"What are you going to do?"

I honestly had no clue, other than a poorly-constructed plan. "I'm going to make sure Klaus can't have his sacrifice."

Once Stefan was gone I went through the list in my head. There were plenty of vampires around, that much was obvious. However, there was only one werewolf; Tyler. Jules was still far, far away, well out of danger. If I could get to Tyler in time I could stop the sacrifice.

The only thing I didn't understand was how Klaus would do it without a full moon.

As I headed to the door I heard Elena scream. _What the hell? Was Klaus trying to mess with me?_ There was another scream, a sob being ripped from her throat. In my head I saw a thousand images; Klaus forcing her to watch as he killed Stefan, or turned Jenna, or tortured Jeremy.

When I raced outside to where the noise was coming from, I saw Katherine. She was curled into a tiny ball, wailing and sobbing like she was dying.

"Katherine, what happened?" I demanded, shaking her shoulders roughly. "Katherine!"

"He took her." Katherine said, the three words to harsh and broken that I found the tiniest bit of sympathy in my heart for Katherine. "Klaus took my baby girl away."

"He was _here_?"

She didn't respond.

"Katherine." I said, willing myself to be patient. "Did he say anything?"

"He said to meet me at the house he kept me during the ball. If I don't go there by ten tonight he'll kill Tibby."

It didn't make any sense. Why did Klaus care about Katherine? If he wanted revenge he could get it after he was freed from his curse. He could torture Katherine by giving her a werewolf bite, or just doing what he usually would.

I remembered something alternate universe Klaus had said to me once; _"One thing I've learned over the years is to always have a backup. Backup vampire, backup werewolf."_

Of course. He wanted Katherine as his backup vampire. He had probably listened in on Elena's conversation with Jenna, and had caught on to Elena trying to warn Jenna and alert me. As for the werewolf… I was clueless as to who the backup could be.

Elena's POV

All I could think about was Jenna, and every moment we'd spent together since she'd gotten custody of Jeremy and me. All the memories were blurs of crying in her arms, trading stories about mom and dad, and feeling safe for the first time in days. Jenna had managed to make sense of the chaos surrounding the time after their deaths.

Footsteps alerted me to someone's presence, and I looked up to see the door open. Greta walked in, followed by some vampire I didn't know. He shoved Tyler Lockwood to the ground. "You leave, you pay with your life." Greta said. She and the vampire left, slamming the door behind them.

Tyler waited until they left, then crawled over to me. His arm seemed to be injured. "Elena?" he asked. "What are you doing here?"

"What are _you _doing here?" I countered.

Tyler shrugged. "That woman that dragged me in said that someone named Klaus needed a werewolf for some sacrifice." He glanced at me. "I know it sounds crazy, but it's true."

"I know." I said quickly. "You turned after you killed Mason."

Tyler flinched. "How did you know that?"

"I know people." I said. I didn't want to involve Damon or Stefan, not that it mattered if we both died. "I'm part of the sacrifice too."

"Are you a wolf too?" Tyler asked, his face lighting up. I couldn't remember seeing him this nice, normal, or hopeful in a long time. I mentally scolded myself for not talking to him as much after my parent's deaths.

I shook my head miserably. "No, sorry. Just the Petrova doppelganger."

Tyler didn't question it. "Fair enough. Are you hurt?"

"I don't know, I haven't moved since I got here." I said. "What about you?"

"Wrenched my arm fighting off that guy, but I'll be fine." Tyler said. The pain in his eyes said otherwise.

"They made me call Jenna." I blurted out suddenly. Tyler looked confused. "Klaus made me call Jenna. He's going to use her in the sacrifice too, as the vampire."

"Jenna's a vampire?"

I almost laughed at his expression. "No, but she will be. Klaus is one, and I think he's going to turn her."

"What are we going to do?" Tyler asked. I felt awful for him. He had only been a werewolf for a few days or weeks—I couldn't keep track of the time—and already he was going to die.

I shrugged. "We're going to sit here and hope that someone realizes we're gone before we're dead."

He looked terrified, but nodded. I gestured for him to come over, and when he did I wrapped my arms around him. "We'll be okay." I promised, wishing it was true.

With that he leaned against the wall and pulled me into his arms, a friendly and comforting gesture from someone who was sure they would die.

Damon's POV

Two hours had gone by and still I hadn't found Tyler anywhere.

It occurred to me that he had already been captured, and that he might even be where Elena was. The only problem with that was I knew going there would mean death.

My cellphone started to ring for the hundredth time that day. Stefan had run into trouble tracking down Caroline, finally finding her at some mall in a nearby town. "Hello?"

"Damon, have you found Tyler yet?"

I frowned. "No."

"Do you think Klaus has him already?"

"Yes." I said, sighing heavily. "Did you find everyone?"

"Yes, and I managed to get them all to come. The house is Jenna's now." Stefan said. "You should probably come back."

"Why?"

I could hear soft whispers in the background. "Lexi's worse."

I felt bad even though I'd seen it coming. "What do you mean?"

"She's burning up, and she keeps having hallucinations about when we used to hang out together."

I swore. "Are there any bad memories associated with you?"

"No, not that I can remember. She was always happy around me."

"Good. The vampire I watched die started to hallucinate about some of the bad things that had happened to her, and she almost killed one of my friends."

"Why is she getting worse now?"

_I wish I knew_. "Maybe because Klaus is trying to have the sacrifice now. He needs a full moon, so he must be simulating it somehow."

"So?"

"I don't know!" I said impatiently. "Maybe it's because Mason didn't turn until last second, maybe it's because she was just stronger than my friend. All I know is that the best you can do for her now is driving a stake through her heart."

I hung up on him as he protested. There was nothing to do about Lexi now. It made me want to smash a window, having to put Stefan through the torturous process of watching Lexi die, but I couldn't kill her again.

When I reached the boardinghouse Jenna invited me in, and Bonnie was the second person to greet me at the door. "Nothing?" she asked. I nodded. "I need to talk to you."

Bonnie dragged me after her into one of the smaller rooms. "Is Elena going to die?"

I was almost afraid to answer. "Klaus has his werewolf, his vampire, and his doppelganger. Chances are that he's going to start with the sacrifice as soon as he can."

Bonnie nodded. "I thought so. I found a spell that can bring her back."

"What?" I suddenly remembered the spell. "Oh. I remember that from last time."

"Last time?"

I quickly explained what had happened when there was a sacrifice the last time. She sat silently the whole time, until I told her how John died to save Elena.

"I want to do the spell to myself." Bonnie said unexpectedly. "There's no one else here that I can have do it."

"I will." I volunteered. She shook her head. "Why not?"

"You're dead." She reminded me like I was a child. "It wouldn't do anything, and Elena would stay dead."

"Oh." I said. "The thing is, I need you to kill Klaus. You almost did last time, and it didn't work only because Elijah stopped you."

"But Elena will die." Bonnie was trying to be strong, but I could see how scared she was.

A blond head stuck in the doorway. "Hello?"

"Yeah, Matt?"

I wondered if he'd heard us. Bonnie didn't seem worried.

"Can I talk to you about something?"

Bonnie gave me an apologetic smile. "Do you mind?"

"No, it's fine. I have to figure out something to get Elena away from Klaus."

I left the two of them, joining Jenna, Caroline, and Jeremy in the livingroom. From what I could hear Stefan was with Lexi in his bedroom. I wondered where Rose was at the moment, heartened by the fact that she was somewhere other than here, safe and undead. _Maybe after this is over I'll go find her. _The thought gave me strength.

Jenna's legs were nervously jittering, banging against the leg of the couch. When she saw me she leapt to her feet. "Can you save Elena?"

"I don't know." I said. It was the truth. I could attempt to rescue her, but it wouldn't do much since I'd get killed. Klaus obviously had his werewolf, and even if he didn't have Jenna he still had his pick of vampires.

Katherine sauntered in, eyes bloodshot. "You're back?"

"Yes, I am. You stayed?"

Katherine glared at me, pouring herself a drink. "I was trying to think of a way to rescue Tibby without actually confronting Klaus. Maybe giving him the moonstone would work."

In an instant I had her pinned against the wall. "The _what_?"

"The moonstone." She choked out, shoving me away. "I still have it."

"Where?" the single word was more than just a question: it was a threat.

She shrugged. "Hidden safely, of course. I was thinking that maybe if I gave it to him he'd let me go."

I snorted. "Yes, because Klaus is so forgiving."

"Why are you arguing about this?" Caroline said, jumping up from the couch. "Elena's life is on the line right now and no one seems to have any idea of how to save her. You're seriously going to argue about some rock right now?"

"If Klaus doesn't have it there will be no sacrifice." I hissed at Caroline. She sat back down quickly, deflated. "So it's kind of important." I admired for trying to stand up to both Katherine and I, but I knew she was wrong. "If we have that moonstone then Elena won't die."

"Tibby will." Katherine said. Her eyes glinted with fire. "As long as I'm here that isn't going to happen."

I saw what would happen when it was too late to stop her. Katherine rushed past me, throwing me aside and into a wall. Caroline tried to grab Katherine's arm but was knocked back, tipping the entire couch over. I heard Jenna moan.

"Where did she go?" Caroline asked. She got to her feet dizzily. Bonnie and Matt both walked in, Matt helping Jenna up when he saw what had happened.

"Did Katherine leave?" Bonnie asked. I nodded. "And she has what Klaus needs to complete the sacrifice?" Another nod.

Bonnie sank onto the couch, cradling her head in her hands. After a minute she looked up at Matt. "Fine."

"What do you mean by that?" I asked. The last thing I need was people with ulterior motives.

"It doesn't matter." Bonnie said. "Get ready to leave soon, I have to do something and then we're going to go kill Klaus."

"You can only kill him when he's transitioning." I said.

"I know." She replied. My heart felt like it was dropping a thousand miles into the ground. "Just be ready."

Elena's POV

It was dark outside when Greta made us leave. Tyler had wanted to fight her, but I warned him not to. I told him that doing anything rash would get his family killed in an instant.

She dragged us outside, throwing us both in circles of fire. "You will wait here until Klaus arrives with the vampire." She commanded. I almost wanted to laugh, considering we had no choice in whether would wait or not.

Tyler face was contorting, barely containing the pain he felt. "I think I'm changing."

"No moon." I said, pointing to the empty sky. "Not even a fake one."

"What?"

"Klaus has a bunch of witches that he's going to use to simulate a full moon or something." I said. I couldn't see Cassie or any of the other witches anywhere. "The only problem is that they're not here."

As soon as the word left my mouth Greta and Klaus's vampire henchmen were dragging the members of the Circle into the clearing. Most of them were so battered that they weren't resisting, but both Cassie and Faye were putting up a fight.

"If you hurt her, I will kill you!" Faye shrieked, the threat directed at the vampire who held Diana. I was too far away to tell, but it looked like she was trying to bite her captor.

Cassie wasn't saying anything, just flailing wildly. She disappeared from view for a moment, surrounded by at least three vampires. When they backed away Cassie's head was lolling to the side, her eyes barely open.

"Is that them?" Tyler asked. His fear was completely unconcealed now.

I nodded. "Unfortunately."

When I thought it couldn't get any worse Klaus strode in, holding some woman I'd never seen by the hair. She had pale skin and jet black hair.

"Jenna never showed up." He said to me. "Odd, isn't it?"

The woman he was holding struggled as he threw her into the final flaming circle. "You promised that I would go unharmed." She snarled.

He shrugged. "I make a lot of promises, love. Anyway, Elena, I found her, so we can proceed."

"I don't know her." I said.

He laughed, the kind of echo-y evil laughter that would make grown men run and hide under their beds. "She's your mother, Elena. Don't you remember her?" he smiled. "Of course not. I mean, she did give you up."

"Isobel?" I gasped.

"Hello, Elena."

Damon's POV

Bonnie came back in a matter of minutes, ordering the others to stay behind. She forced me into the car and we drove to the house where Elena was, but when we got there it was empty.

"Where do you think they went?" she asked as we got back in the car.

"Probably the woods." I said. I still remember the exact place from last time. "I know where."

When we got there I could already see the Circle, tied up around three rings of fire, which held Elena, Tyler, and Isobel.

"Is that Tyler?" Bonnie gasped. "We can't let him die!"

"We don't have choice." I knew it was harsh, but we couldn't risk it. "Did you do something to protect Elena?"

"Yes."

I watched as Klaus paced, explaining to Elena how Isobel was her mother. Elena seemed more shocked than upset. After all, Isobel had been absent from her life. It wasn't like they had some close maternal bond.

"You think Katherine came here already?" Bonnie whispered. I shook my head. "Then why is he acting like the sacrifice is going to start?"

I heard rustling, and suddenly Katherine was standing in the clearing. "There's your answer." I whispered.

"I want my daughter back, Klaus." Katherine said loudly, her words carrying all the way to where we hid.

Klaus smirked. "You do? What do you have to give me?"

"Katherine held the moonstone above her head. "This. You don't get it until my daughter is standing next to me."

Klaus motioned to one of his minions—I was started to fear how many of them there were—and the vampire disappeared. In a minute he was back, dragging a screaming and kicking Tibby. She little girl was thrashing in his arms, but when she saw Katherine she stopped moving. A hopeful expression crossed her face.

"Don't give him the stone, she's not your daughter!" Elena shrieked.

"What did she just say?" Bonnie asked.

"You heard her." What did she mean? I guessed that she was just trying to buy more time.

Katherine shook her head. "She is. I felt it the moment I saw her."

"No, she's not." Elena said, slowly and calmly. "He told me. Your daughter is dead, Katherine. Her name was Lisbeth Petrova. She's buried in Bulgaria."

"No, her name is Tabitha and she's right there." Katherine said, but for a second I could hear confusion in her voice. She held out the moonstone. "Take it."

Klaus took the stone from her in a flash, shoving Tibby into Katherine's arms. "Oh, Katherine. I'm afraid Elena is right."

"What?" Katherine looked at the little girl, who was as confused as her. "I don't understand."

"You were a liability, Katerina." Klaus said. "You would have messed up so many things, so I had to keep you occupied. I found that little girl in Washington and compelled her to think she was your daughter, then made Greta put a devotion spell on her so you would believe she was your daughter."

A look of horror was dawning in Katherine's eyes. "But… but I know she's mine."

"Your daughter died when she was sixteen." Klaus scoffed. "I made sure of that."

"But I still love Tibby." Katherine protested, as though it would make what Klaus was saying a lie.

Klaus laughed. "You do. Unfortunately, my use for both you and her has come to an end."

In a flash there was a stake through Tibby's heart. Bonnie gasped. Katherine took one look at the dead girl and crumpled to the ground, wailing uncontrollably. Apparently that devotion spell hadn't worn off.

"Now," Klaus said, wiping the blood from his hands, "We should start."

Elena's POV

I felt pity for the nameless girl that had lost her life over such a pointless cause, but I didn't have much time to cry. Klaus had the Circle start creating the fake full moon, threatening them by hurting Diana when they refused. When he did, Faye started chanting at once, quickly followed by the rest.

Soon a silvery-blue orb hung in the air, so far up that it looked like a real moon. Tyler's convulsions grew worse and worse; his cries of pain cut through my heart like a knife. What had he ever done to deserve this?

"It's okay, Tyler, it's okay." I said over and over. I knew it wouldn't change anything, but my voice seemed to sooth him.

Suddenly the fire around him went out, and Klaus ran over with vampire speed, pulling Tyler up by his shirt. "You first."

Tyler struggled as he was dragged away, snapping at Klaus with werewolf teeth. I had a feeling werewolf bites wouldn't affect Originals, but I could always hope.

Greta nodded approvingly as Tyler was lifted up next to the bowl that had been carved from some sort of rock. In a flash Tyler's heart had been ripped out. A strangled cry escaped my lips.

When Isobel was allowed out of her circle she tried to run, but Klaus caught her easily. I didn't watch her die.

Finally the flames around my subsided. "Come along, darling." Klaus said, talking to me like I was his lover. "It's your turn."

I looked at the woods surrounding me, trying to drink in my last moments of life. All I could think of was my family, my friends, and every single person that mattered to me. I hoped that Klaus would leave them alone.

Then I focused on the people that were around me. All the Circle witches were struggling with the moonlight spell. I saw that the three girls were crying. Cassie looked at me, pausing from her chanting to mouth, "I'm sorry" at me.

Klaus offered his hand to me. "Coming?"

I stormed past, hitting his hand with my shoulder. Slowly I stepped onto the rock next to the bowl full of Tyler's blood and the moonstones.

Klaus came to stand behind me, hands at my waist in case I decided to run. "Thank you." he whispered.

I rolled my eyes. "Go to hell."

Fangs sank into my neck and I couldn't make a sound. As I slipped into the dark, hazy peace of death I could have sworn that I saw Damon's eyes.

Damon's POV

As soon as Elena fell to the ground I signaled for Bonnie to go. As she ran down the hill towards Klaus I ran to Greta and snapped her neck.

It was like the same scene was unfolding as last time; Bonnie's hair whipped around her face as she chanted. Fires sprang up everywhere, and Klaus contorted in pain.

The Circle almost instantly caught on to whatever Bonnie was saying, and suddenly it was like his pain multiplied a thousand times. I wished we had known the Circle in the other universe.

When I was sure that Klaus was on the brink of the death he became to transform, his spine twisting until it was shaped like a canine's. Bonnie had blood dripping from her nose, but she pressed on and kept chanting.

I edged closer, warily circling Klaus, trying to keep him away from the witches. His face was mutating, a long furry snout growing in its place. "Hurry!" I shouted to Bonnie.

Vampire eyes suddenly turned gold, and fur replaced clothing. I shouted a warning to Bonnie and the others just in time to look up and see a mass of fur headed my way.

The next few minutes were complete chaos. There was a blur of fur, blood, fire, and screaming. Then, as quickly as it started, it stopped. There was nothing but a limp wolf lying at my feet. Most of the Circle members were collapsing into the dirt, panting. Bonnie merely brushed the blood from her face.

"Quick." I said. "The body is going to light up any minute, it always happens when Originals die. If you can get some blood from Klaus you can save Lexi."

Nodding, she did as I said. She barely had enough for Lexi when the body went up in flames.

"There's not enough for you and Lexi." She said, eyeing my warily.

I shrugged. "It's okay. Maybe I'll get lucky, since it was his first transformation." I knew it was a lie. I just didn't want Bonnie to feel guilty.

"Get Elena." Bonnie said. "Bring her to the boardinghouse. I'll make sure the Circle gets out of here safely."

"What about Elijah?"

"You said he came here to help his brother." I nodded. "There's nothing left that he can do, so why would he stay?"

I walked over to Elena, grimacing as I felt the poison coursing through my veins. It wouldn't be long before I died, but at least I might be able to see Elena wake up.

"We're going home." I whispered as I picked her up and carried her away.

Elena's POV

At first it felt like there was nothing around me, just some sort of velvety padding. It made me wonder if I wasn't dead. Had Klaus not taken enough blood, or was this just what being dead was like?

I wished that the darkness would go away. My mind kept racing, full of images of Tyler dying and Katherine as she collapsed, overwrought with grief. It had been cruel, the way Klaus killed that little girl. I prayed that he would pay for it with his life.

I gasped, feeling like my lungs were full of water. The darkness began to fade, giving way to dull lights hovering above my head. I could hear Stefan's voice. "Elena?"

"Stefan?" I opened my eyes. He was directly above me, Jenna and Jeremy off to the side. "Are you dead?"

I realized how dumb the question was when I asked it. He laughed. "Yes, but you're not."

"W-What?"

"Bonnie did a spell to save you." Jenna said softly. Her eyes were red-rimmed, and her voice held a note of sadness. "Matt volunteered to help. He… he gave his life for yours."

"What?" I shot up, knocking Stefan out of the way. "What do you mean?"

"He's dead." Caroline said. "Bonnie says that he heard her talking about the spell, and even though he knew he would die he wanted to do it."

"Why?" I asked brokenly, tears flooding my vision and blurring everything. Matt and I hadn't been close for months.

"Because his mom came a few days ago and took Vicki with her." Jenna said. "We never knew, but only a few days later Vicki died of a drug overdose. Ms. Donovan's new boyfriend had a stash in his room, and Vicki took too much."

I thought for sure that I was dying, or dead already. I had to be. How could something that have happened without me knowing?

"She died yesterday." Bonnie said, coming into the room. Her face was streaked with blood. "He didn't tell anyone, not until he heard about the spell."

"So he decided he had a death wish?" I asked.

Bonnie sighed, coming to sit next to me. "He's had a hard life, even with all the good times he had with you. His mom is taken care of—in some facility where doctors are helping her deal with the grief—so it's not like he had anything to leave behind. He wanted to save you, probably because he's always loved you."

I knew it was such a sweet, selfless thing for him to do, but the guilt was suffocating me. "What about e-everyone else?"

"The Circle is fine. They're all in the hospital, but they're fine." Bonnie said. "Damon went 'home', wherever that is."

"Lexi?" I asked.

"We got her the cure, which turned out to be Klaus's blood."

"So everyone's okay?"

Glances were exchanged, ones that made my heart start to beat faster. "What?" I asked.

Jenna finally took pity on me. "Damon was bitten by Klaus, after Klaus turned into a werewolf."

"You cured Lexi, do the same to him." I said.

"There was only enough for one person…" Bonnie said. She had to look away from me. "I'm sorry. Damon told me to save Lexi, so I did."

I bit my lip to keep from crying. "I want to see him."

Stefan finally spoke up, taking Bonnie's place at my side. "We don't know where he went. Besides, you need to get home and rest. You _died_, Elena."

I jumped away from him, furious. "Well, I'm dead anymore. Damon, on the other hand, could die for good. Why can't you figure out a spell to save him?"

Bonnie shrugged, but it was obvious the answer was no. The pity on everyone's faces was too much to bear. Jenna was crying, along with Bonnie and Caroline. Jeremy mouthed, "I'm so sorry." Stefan avoided any eye contact. I felt trapped.

"Fine." I said at last. "I'll go home, but I'm going to keep calling Damon until he answers."

The car ride home with Stefan, Jeremy, and Jenna was silent, aside from my frantic calls. It became clear that Damon wasn't picking up his phone. I kept imagining him all alone, dying in the woods. Even worse, I imagined him committing suicide when the sun rose. He had said that werewolf bites caused slow and painful deaths. I couldn't see why he would want to suffer any more than necessary. He said he had only wanted to save me, and that was done. There wouldn't be anything left for him.

When we reached my house I gave up, letting silent tears slip down my face. "I'll see you tomorrow?" Stefan asked. I didn't answer, storming out of the car and into the house with Jeremy and Jenna behind me.

When I walked in I heard something, like someone groaning. "Hello?" my heart began to pound.

I walked into the living room, grabbing an umbrella by the door for a weapon. "Whoever you are, I'm armed!" I had a feeling if it was a vampire I would get laughed at.

When I rounded the corner I saw the last person I expected to be in my house.

"Damon?"

He was laying on the couch, skin pale and sweaty. "Hey there. Back from the dead?"

"Damon!" I yelped. I couldn't contain myself, practically jumping onto him. He grunted in pain. "You don't look as bad as everyone said you were. Maybe you'll be okay."

He shook his head. "No, Elena—"

"I mean it." I said. "When I was leaving Bonnie mentioned that it might be different, because Klaus was a hybrid. You're probably just sick."

"No, Elena." He said, taking his time to form each word. "I'm dying. There's nothing anyone can do."

_Cover my eyes_

_Cover my ears_

_Tell me these words are a lie_

"You're lying." I gulping, tears rushing down my cheeks. "You can't be dying. You _can't_ be dying. Maybe there's a spell. Yeah, Bonnie could do a spell to make you better." _Please don't die._ I crawled closer to him on the couch, taking both of his hands. "Look at me, Damon. Please don't die."

He raised his eyes slowly to meet mine, tears glistening in them. "I'm sorry."

_It can't be true_

_That I'm losing you_

_The sun cannot fall from the sky_

_Can you hear heaven cry? _

_The tears of an angel_

"No!" I cried, vision blurring. I clumsily tried to hit him but he restrained my flailing hands.

He said, "At least you're safe, like I promised Bonnie when I left." It sounded like every word cost him a tremendous amount of effort.

"It's not fair." I whispered brokenly. I felt like a child, naïve and unprotected from the pain that was crashing down on me. Of course it wasn't fair; it never was when I lost someone I loved. "We didn't get enough time, Damon."

_Stop every clock_

_The stars are in shock_

_The river won't run to the sea_

_I won't let you fly_

_I won't say goodbye_

_I won't let you slip away from me_

_Can you hear heaven cry?_

"We didn't get enough time?" he asked. His eyes were slowly fluttered closed, but he was still breathing.

I nodded, pulling the two hands I held close to my face and brushing them with two soft kisses. He didn't open his eyes, but he smiled. "We didn't get enough time."

"But you love Stefan." There was so much regret in that one statement, but he said it anyway.

"I love you."

His eyes sprang open. They were glazed over with fever. "What?"

"I love you, Damon." I sniffed. "I love you."

_So hold on_

_Be strong_

_Everyday hope will grow_

_I'm here _

_Don't you fear_

_Don't let go_

_Don't let go_

"I love you." he said. It was the most beautiful thing I'd ever heard.

He lifted his hands to my face, cradling it. Tears dripped down his arms, stained with dirt and blood from the sacrifice that seemed like ancient history. I leaned forward, waiting with bated breath. His eyes glowed with love and devotion.

I was inches away from his face when his hands went limp, and they slowly slid until they rested at his sides. "Damon?"

No response.

"Damon?" I repeated. "Damon? Damon, no, please wake up, please wake up! No! DAMON!"

It was like I was living a nightmare. Everything was slow. It felt like I was moving through water as I pleaded for Damon to come back, clutching his hands to my chest. Jenna and Jeremy, who had been watching the whole scene unfold, ran to my side and tried to get me away. I couldn't understand. Why did they want to take him away? Didn't they know I loved him?

Out of nowhere Stefan and Alaric—who I hadn't seen much in the last few days—came running in. I begged, pleaded, and cried, but they finally detached me from Damon's lifeless body. They took him away and left Jenna and Jeremy to comfort me.

Hours later, I lay on my bed, curled into a fetal position. Stefan had come back after burying Damon and was watching from a corner of the room. He seemed to understand that there was nothing left to comfort me. I wondered if he was sad. He seemed to be struggling with a hurricane of emotion, but he was keeping calm for my sake.

Memories flashed behind my heavy, tear-laden eyelids. Damon, smiling at me from a distance at the parade. Damon, fighting to keep me in the backseat while I threatened to throw something at his head. Damon holding me while I cried. Damon comforting me, saving me, laughing with me, crying with me, being with me. How could I have been so stupid? Why didn't I see it until it was too late?

"_Were we ever together?" I asked him, one time while we were at my house. "You know, in that other reality you talk about. I know it's a weird question… it's just that you seem to care about me a lot, and that has to stem from something romantic, or at least friendly."_

_He smiled. "No, not really. I mean… we were on and off friends. I was kind of a jerk to you."_

_I cuddled up to him, not knowing then why I felt so safe in his presence. "Not even once?"_

"_Well…" he began. "There was one time when you kissed me, not because I wanted you to, but because you wanted to kiss me. I was dying."_

"_You died?"_

"_Obviously not." I laughed at him. "We never had anything. I remember when I talked to you later you said it was only a goodbye kiss, because you still loved Stefan."_

"_Well, I apologize for alternate universe me being such a jerk to you and leading you on like that." I teased._

Oh God, was that what he had thought when I was sitting with him? I said I loved him, but… I didn't know what the other Elena had said. It might have been the same thing.

I pulled my legs closer. It didn't matter anymore. Nothing did.

_Cover my eyes_

_Cover my ears_

_Tell me these words are a lie._

**A/N: I know what you're thinking, but I'm not done writing yet. I beg of you, don't abandon this fic just because Damon died. Please?**

**By the way, I don't own the song "Tears Of An Angel" by RyanDan.**


	15. Parachute

**A/N: So yeah… I apologize for basically torturing you in the last chapter, but I promise it'll get better in this one.**

Elena's POV

The week after Damon's death was nothing but a blur, one of endless pain and sorrow. I stayed in my bedroom the whole time, refusing to leave or eat. In the end I managed to leave, only because Matt's and Tyler's funerals were on the same day, one after the other. I owed them both, and Stefan had promised we could go visit Damon's grave. I also knew that I had to live, if only so I would live. I wouldn't let all Damon's work to keep be alive be for nothing, because if I faded away then he would have died in vain.

Matt's and Tyler's funerals were heartbreaking. Tyler's death was brushed off as an animal attack, and Matt's was called suicide. There were no flowers for Isobel or the little nameless girl, but after the service I set some flowers under a tree for them.

Damon's "funeral" consisted of Jenna, Jeremy, Stefan, Caroline, Bonnie, and the Circle. All the Chance Harbor witches had mostly recovered over the week. They were all battered and bruised with their fair share of broken bones, but they were okay.

I looked at the simple dirt mound that signified Damon's grave. One by one, people walked by silently and placed flowers on the grave. It was the first time I ever saw Stefan cry, and the feeling shook me to the core.

Caroline and Bonnie both left flowers. Bonnie also placed a small piece of paper on the grave, saying it was a spell that would give him "peaceful dreams". Jenna sat silently with Jeremy, just staring. Jeremy left a drawing of Damon, one where Damon was laughing like he'd just said something especially snarky.

Then the Circle went. Faye and Diana knelt at the grave. I heard Diana whisper, "Thank you so much. I… I just wish you could be here to see how much you helped me." She smiled sadly at Faye and squeezed the dark-haired witch's hand.

Cassie said something too, leaving a note. I had no idea what it was, but I didn't care that much. Jake and Adam both left some sort of crystals, blue as Damon's eyes. Melissa talked about how kind and gentle he was, then cried.

Finally I walked up. My whole body was trembling wildly. The whole time I had stayed dry-eyed, through Matt's funeral, Tyler's funeral, and all of the exchanges I had just witnessed at Damon's grave. I made it to the grave and sunk to my knees, but my voice caught in my throat. I had no idea what I would say anyway, and I didn't see what difference it would make. Damon was gone. After a long time I set down a single rose, spelled so that it was black, and I got up and walked away.

Eventually all the witches from Chance Harbor left. They had other stuff to deal with, and in the aftermath of everything they were all a little shell-shocked. Faye and Diana explained to me what Damon had done, saying that he had helped Diana realize she liked Faye. I found it incredibly sweet, but after ten minutes of talking about what Damon told her I couldn't take it and had to leave before I started to cry.

After everyone had left and everything was over, I retreated to the safety of my room. I didn't lock myself in like before, I merely stayed unless there was food. After a few days I went back to school.

Only a day later Stefan broke up with me.

"I don't understand!" I said tearfully for the hundredth time. He had come to my house after school and just dropped the idea on me like a bomb.

"I brought this on you." Stefan said. "It's my fault that you got involved in the supernatural. If I had stayed away maybe you would have lived. Maybe my brother would have lived."

"But I love you." I cried. "I've lost so many people, Stefan, I can't lose you."

Stefan shook his head. "I know you'll never love me like you loved Damon."

"Is _that_ what this about?" I asked. I knew he was right, but if Stefan left I would surely die from loneliness.

He sat for a long time, just watching me with nothing but love in his eyes. "No, it's not. I just want you to be safe."

I couldn't find anything to say. After a while he got up, kissed me, and left. When I went to the boardinghouse later he was gone. Zach told me that Stefan had left for good, saying that he probably wouldn't be back for at least eighty years. I cried myself to sleep that night.

Stefan's POV

I couldn't forget that empty, dead look in her eyes when I told her I was leaving. I knew that it was for the best and that eventually Elena would get better and find someone human, but it still hurt. I knew that when—and if—I came back years later, she would probably be married, with children and grandchildren that adored her. I would just be the creepy guy watching from the bushes and wishing that I was the man sitting next to her, enjoying my last few years in her arms.

After that thought I decided not to come back until I was sure she was dead, or maybe not to come back at all. There wasn't anything for me in Mystic Falls.

I sighed, leaned against the side of my car. I was watching the sun set from the boardinghouse driveway, preparing to leave. Memories of Elena, haunting every corner of the building, were all that kept me there.

"Hey there, handsome." I heard someone say, thinking for a split second that it was Elena. When I turned I was greeted by a curly-haired brunette that had on her usual high heels and low-cut shirt.

"Katherine." I greeted her, not particularly caring why she was there.

She came over and stood next to me, looking in the same direction I was. "Mmm, that's beautiful, isn't it?" A hint of seduction was in the undertones of her voice. I hadn't heard that in forever.

"It is." I said. I glanced sideways at her, looking for any signs of emotion. "You feeling better now?"

Katherine shrugged. "I think the spell wore off. I mean, I was devastated at first. It felt like I was drowning or suffocating, but a few hours after that girl died it started to go away. Now I feel like I never knew her."

Despite the obvious uncaring, I could hear just a hint of sadness. "Feeling pity for that girl, Katherine?"

"No." She said, casually examining her nails. "I just feel bad that all those years I was a vampire I never thought of looking for my daughter."

"But you told Tibby you did."

"Yes." She said. She laughed bitterly. "That was the sickening devotion and love swelling in my heart that was talking, not me. I never went to look for her, and it never even occurred to me long after she would have died."

I nodded. "I suppose it happens that way sometimes. My mother was dead for years before I knew about it."

Katherine slid closer, pulling the cars keys from my hand. "Why don't we go somewhere?"

"Why?" I asked. "And where?"

"I was thinking Bulgaria, first." Katherine said. She started to steer me around the passenger seat and opened the door. I got in, reluctant. "I want to see my daughter's grave, just once. I want to know if I ever felt anything for her."

"And then?" In my mind I imagined wandering endlessly through the world, always haunted by Elena through Katherine's big brown eyes and occasionally Elena-like voice.

She shrugged. "Who knows? Hell, we could go anywhere we wanted to. No more Klaus, no more running."

I thought about it, and found myself liking the idea. I could visit all the places I'd been missing lately. I could go visit Lexi and her boyfriend in Georgia.

"Let's go."

Elena's POV

Exactly a month later I was still as depressed as I was when it had only been a week. At least it had gotten better. Jeremy and Anna—who never actually freed any tomb vampires because she couldn't find a tomb—were getting along well. I did remind him that their relationship wouldn't last forever, but eventually I decided to just let them be happy. They still had a lot of time before Jeremy got old.

Jenna and Alaric had also found love, though I'd run into them several awkward times. I didn't mind that much. Jenna hadn't looked that happy for years.

I was sitting on my bed, legs crossed. Jenna was out that night, with Alaric. Anna and Jeremy were at Anna's apartment, "doing homework". I was staring at a textbook but I couldn't find it in me to study. All I could think of was Damon, Tyler, Matt, and the little girl. I wished that I could just repress the memories like victims of horrible accidents could sometimes. Unfortunately every detail was still imbedded on my brain. The nightmares only made them more vivid.

I finally gave up, shoving the book off my bed and lying down. I stared at the ceiling, trying to decide if I wanted dinner or if I would just stay where I was. I decide on the latter, just staring at the pale paint on the ceiling and wondering what I would do once I finished high school. It had never crossed my mind before, but now I felt like my options were open. There wasn't anything keeping me in Mystic Falls. After all the deaths that had happened, starting with my parents, the place haunted me. I had memories everywhere. They were threatening to overwhelm me. I could barely go anywhere without suffocating, and even at home it was hard to breathe.

Finally I decided I would go somewhere far, far away. Maybe I could find a college in California. That was at the opposite end of the country. It would be perfect. I decided to stop in Chance Harbor in Washington State on the way and see how the Circle was. It would be fun, checking out a town with only witch-related roots. Also, I missed the presence of the witches, as annoying as they'd been.

I was nearly asleep when the doorbell rang. It had to be Jeremy. He kept losing his key for the door, even though I was constantly reminding him to keep it in his wallet. I groaned, forcing myself up. I was going to kill him for making me move.

I opened the door with a grumpy, "Again? Really?" on my lips. When I saw who it was I couldn't speak.

He was standing there, looking so real. Blue eyes, dark hair… I was sure I was hallucinating. "Damon?" I whispered. I was afraid if I spoke he would be gone.

He nodded very slowly, as though I was a deer that could bolt at any moment. He stretched out a hand until it was mere millimeters away from my face. Very, very slowly, he cupped my cheek. I could feel the tension in the tips of his fingers, but mostly I felt how real he was.

As soon as I knew he was real I dove into his arms, crying more than I ever had in my life. Damon buried his nose in my hair, soaking it with his own tears. "Elena." I heard him mumbled. "I love you, Elena."

We staggered to the couch, melting into each other as we both cried. It took hours to calm down, hours for me to believe that Damon was real.

"How is this possible?" I asked. "I saw you die. I was at your grave."

"I don't know." Damon said. "I woke up, trapped in the dirt. Luckily there were some small holes to the surface because I couldn't breathe."

"You don't need to, remember?" I said.

Damon shook his head. "I do, actually. That's the thing… ever since I woke up, or came back, I've had to breathe, and eat, and I have a pulse."

"You…" I had no words, but in my mind a thousand beautiful images were forming.

"I'm human." Damon said. "I have no idea how or why, just that I'm human again."

If I had been happy to see Damon before, I was speechless at his words now. I kept looking at him, unable to tear my eyes away. College in California was a thing of the past in seconds, instead replaced by late nights at the lake house, a pale blue house, a picket fence, and the smiling faces of children.

"I love you." I said. It was short, simple, and true. There were no other words for what I felt but those three.

"I love you too."

**Ten years later**

Elena's POV

I shifted in my sleep, grumbling when I reached out for covers and found none. "Damonnnn…."

"Mmmm?"

"Give them back!" I ordered. I tugged insistently at the sheets but was met with resistance. "Damon, give them back now! My feet are like ice!"

"Mine too." He complained.

I heard soft cried from the next room. "Damon!" I whispered shrilly. "Look what you did!"

Leaving him half-awake, I stumbled out of the bedroom to the nursery, stopping at the edge of the pale pink crib. In it lay the most important person in my life, along with Damon; Miranda. "Hey, baby girl." I cooed. A smile spread on my face, and I instantly forgave Damon for sheet-hogging.

Leaning over, I scooped up my baby and held her close, backing up until my legs bumped into the rocking chair and I could sit. I gently rocked back and forth, humming under my breath.

Behind my I heard the bed creak, and Damon appeared at my side. "Is she hungry?"

"Nope, you just woke her."

Damon knelt next to the rocker, gazing at his daughter like she was the most precious person in his entire world. The adoration in his eyes made my heart melt.

"You two are my favorite girls." He stated, kissing Miranda's head before coming up and kissing me. "How did I get so lucky?"

"You deserved it." I said simply. "And hey, don't forget about your favorite boy."

"Never!" he said, faking a shocked expression. When I got up to put Miranda back in her crib he stopped me and kissed my stomach lightly. "How is my favorite boy?"

"You mean little Stefan?" I asked. He nodded. We had agreed to the name together, just like we had picked Miranda in honor of my mom. "He's healthy."

Damon scooped me up in his arms and carried me back to bed. "I can't wait until July."

"Mmmmm…" I agreed. I stretched lazily. "That's because you don't have to push a baby the size of a watermelon out of your—"

"Please stop while you're ahead." He said. "That image is putting me through serious physical pain."

"I never finished. You don't know what I was going to say." I pouted.

"Yeah, but I can guess."

"I'll bet you can." I teased.

"Before you fall asleep…" he murmured, making me open my eyes.

"What?"

He held up a crumpled piece of paper. "Bonnie gave this to me today, when we ran into each other in town."

I sat up. "What is it?"

"It's the note Bonnie from the other universe wrote to prove to the Bonnie here that I wasn't a physchpath."

"Oh." I took it from his hands, carefully unfolding the creased paper. "Why did she give it to you?"

"It peels apart." When he saw my quizzical expression he took it gently and parted the paper at the top edge, peeling it away until he revealed that it was really two pieces of paper glued together.

"So…?"

"Read this."

I looked at the faint words he pointed to, ones that would have been previously hidden:

_Bonnie, _

_I don't know if you'll ever need to know this, or ever find it, but I feel like you should know. Damon thinks I only did one spell, the one to send him back. He's wrong._

_I did another spell, one that will bring him back one time if he dies. Unfortunately (or fortunately) it will only be able to bring him back as a human. I'm hiding this part of the note because I'm afraid that if he reads this he might try to kill himself so he could be human and be with Elena. _

_I hope that if he does die and come back, it will be for Elena. That way he won't have died for his own selfish reasons. He will have died for her._

I blinked back tears at the letter, not knowing why I was crying. "So it was that Bonnie's spell that saved you, and she hid this so you wouldn't kill yourself to become human?"

"That's the theory." He said, gently removing the thin paper from my hands. "I guess she felt that if I became human, I had to earn it. It had to be because I died for you."

I laid back down and sighed, wiping the dampness from my cheeks. "I'm glad she did."

"Me too."

I snuggled closer. "G'night."

"Goodnight, Elena." He kissed my head. "I love you."

"I love you too."


End file.
